Background/Purpose: Drowning, a leading cause of death for children in the US, happens at three times the rate for African American youth (5-14 years) compared to White peers (CDC, 2010). Minority children encounter profound socio-cultural barriers to quality swimming instruction (Irwin, et al, 2008). The purpose for this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot program developed to address these barriers. The Make a Splash Mid-South “Learn to Swim” pilot program was a free/low cost swimming instruction intervention ending with a developmental swim meet to promote diversity in the sport of swimming.
Method: Mixed methods were employed, and IRB approval was achieved. Primary research participants included minority youth (n=12) recruited from one after-school care center. Eight participants completed pre/post intervention questionnaires which measured self-reported swimming ability (verified by swim instructors), attitudes toward swimming, and water safety knowledge. Semi-structured focus groups and one-on-one interviews (primary research measures) were conducted and included all stakeholder groups; the children (n=9), their parent/caregivers (n=3), swimming instructors (n=3), swim meet mentors (n=2), & program developers (n=5).
Analysis/Results: Swimming ability, attitudes, and knowledge improved for all measured. Qualitative data from all stakeholder groups confirmed that this program was effective and met all program goals/objectives. Thematic findings indicated principal barriers, fear of drowning and economic challenges, were overcome with this program.
Conclusions: Community-based minority swimming programs similar to the Make a Splash Mid-South “Learn to Swim” program could be valuable toward increasing diversity in swimming and decreasing disproportionate drowning incidents for minority children.