Willcox-Pidgeon, Stacey, Leggat, Peter A., Devine, Susan, and Franklin, Richard C. (2025) Measuring the Swimming Skills of Adults Attending Swimming Lessons in Australia as a Drowning Prevention Measure. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 36 (2). e70010.

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Abstract

Introduction Swimming and water safety skills are essential for reducing drowning. Swimming and water safety programs primarily focus on children, despite adults accounting for over 80% of fatal drowning in Australia. This study aims to identify types of adult swimming programs in Australia, who attends these programs, and measure their swimming skill achievement against national benchmarks.

Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study of adults attending swimming programs between 2018 and 2021 was conducted. Participant assessment records were analysed against the [Australian] National Swimming and Water Safety Framework and national benchmarks to be achieved by 6 and 12 years old. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square analysis were undertaken.

Results Of 4914 adults attending swimming lessons, 44% were female, median age was 38 years, and 40% were from high socioeconomic areas. On average, adults attended nine lessons, averaging 4.5 h in the water. At their final assessment, 69% could swim at least 5 m (6-year-old benchmark), and 8% could swim 50 m continuously (12-year-old benchmark).

Conclusions Adults of all ages are learning to swim; however, only 8% are achieving the 12-year-old benchmark of swimming 50 m. An equity issue exists, with adults from lower socioeconomic areas and men less likely to be attending swimming programs. Developing and maintaining water safety skills throughout the lifespan is vital for reducing drowning risk among adults.

So What? Adults are spending time, money and effort learning to swim, however, more is needed to ensure that participants stay in lessons long enough to develop the necessary skills needed to be safe in the water.

Item ID:	86679
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2201-1617
Copyright Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. © 2025 The Author(s). Health Promotion Journal of Australia published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australian Health Promotion Association.
Funders:	Royal Life Saving Society - Australia
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2025 23:26
FoR Codes:	42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420604 Injury prevention @ 50% 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4206 Public health > 420603 Health promotion @ 50%
SEO Codes:	20 HEALTH > 2004 Public health (excl. specific population health) > 200408 Injury prevention and control @ 50% 20 HEALTH > 2002 Evaluation of health and support services > 200203 Health education and promotion @ 25% 13 CULTURE AND SOCIETY > 1306 Sport, exercise and recreation > 130603 Recreation and leisure activities (excl. sport and exercise) @ 25%
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