Can you really swim? Validation of self- and parent reports of swim skill among children attending community-based pools in Washington state: A prospective study

Background/Purpose:  Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death among U.S. children.  Multiple studies have shown decreased drowning risk among children who possess some swimming skills.  Current surveillance for this protective factor is self/proxy-reported swim skill rather than observed in-water performance; however, research has not validated either children’s self-report or parents’ proxy report of swim skill.

This study evaluates whether children or parents can validly report a child’s swim skill. It also explores which swim skill self/proxy-reported survey measure(s) correlate best with children’s in-water swimming performance.

Methods:  This cross-sectional study is part of an Epi-Aid – CDC’s epidemiological response mechanism – to assist the Washington State Department of Health and Seattle Children’s Hospital in reducing unintentional drowning among children. Self and parental reports from 218 child-parent dyads will be validated by an in-water swimming test at public pools in Washington state during July 2014.  An additional sample of 218 non-swim tested child-parent dyads will serve as the comparison group.

Results/Outcomes:   Bivariate analyses will identify differences in child and parental reports of swim skill by socio-demographic characteristics. Among the swim-tested children, analyses will assess which self-report and parental report measures correlate best with children’s actual swimming performance.

Conclusions:  Self/proxy survey questions validated against an in-water swimming test will help Washington state more effectively monitor swimming promotion and drowning prevention efforts. Findings will aid in determining the best surveillance question(s) and method of predicting children’s swim skill, without the need for in-water testing.