Royal National Lifeboat Institution

BackgroundThe World Health Organization recommend the teaching of basic swimming skills to school aged children, and the training of community members in rescue and resuscitation as key interventions for the prevention of drowning. Recent practical guidance published by the WHO provides a high-level synopsis of the processes, policies and documents required to implement these interventions. However, since a relatively limited numbers of organisations have experience delivering these interventions in LMIC settings, more detailed guidance is required to ensure safe and effective implementation, particularly during scale-up.ObjectiveTo ensure this practical guidance is applicable and useable in LMICs, we convened practitioners from low-resource settings to identify good practice, barriers to implementation, and co-design technical resources to support intervention delivery.MethodsGap analysis on the WHO Practical Guidance identified topic areas where the guidance referred to practice, policy or documentation, but provided no (or limited) further detail. Seventeen practitioners (representing 13 countries) delivering basic swimming skills, and twenty-two practitioners (representing 14 countries) delivering rescue and resuscitation training in low-resource settings were identified and sent a questionnaire to understand current practice against the topic areas in the WHO guidance.Two four-day facilitated workshops, one for basic swimming skills and one for rescue and resuscitation, were then held in Tanzania (Sept 2022) and India (Oct 2023). Facilitators worked through a set of pre-defined questions to identify barriers to implementation, gain consensus on good practice, and develop technical resources that would assist organisations implement the practices.ResultsThis process identified 8 topic areas where further technical guidance was required including safety critical topics (safeguarding and auditing of training sites), and topics likely to impact programme uptake (addressing fears of disease transmission during resuscitation).Participants highlighted several barriers to implementing the guidance, including a lack of financial and human resources, community scepticism of the interventions, communication challenges in rural areas, and a lack of standardised and peer-reviewed technical resources tailored to the low-resource environment.ConclusionsResources developed during the workshops include site safety audit checklists, and an informed consent form that includes guidance on medical screening. Future work will test and evaluate their use.

IntroductionThe 2023 World Health Assembly resolution 76.18 committed the World Health Organization to the coordination of drowning prevention efforts, including those of United Nations (UN) agencies. Here, we aim to map drowning prevention linkages across UN Agency agendas, make recommendations to guide global strategies and inform the development of the Global Alliance and a Global Strategy for drowning prevention.MethodsWe applied a qualitative multimethod approach, including document review, key informant interviews, an interagency workshop and international conference panel discussion, to refine data and create our recommendations. We developed a framework to identify intersections between health and sustainable development agendas and applied it to map intersections and opportunities for the integration of drowning prevention across relevant UN Agency agendas.ResultsOur framework categorised intersections for drowning prevention in UN Agendas according to potential for (a) shared understandings of problems and solutions, (b) shared capacities, guidelines and resources and (c) shared governance and strategic pathways, noting that some factors overlap. We present our Position, Add, Reach and Reframe approach to outlining opportunities for the integration of drowning prevention in health and sustainable development agendas. Our results emphasise the importance of establishing approaches to the Global Alliance and Global Strategy that ensure high-level political advocacy is converted into solutions for affected communities. We recommend using research to inform effective action, building capacity and best practices, and promoting evaluation frameworks to incentivise and verify progress.ConclusionOur study identifies opportunities to expand drowning prevention efforts and to build Member State capacity to reduce drowning risk through evidence-informed measures that address vulnerabilities, exposures, hazards and build population-level resilience to drowning. Our framework for identifying opportunities for integration of drowning prevention across a multisectoral set of agendas offers a research and policy toolkit that may prove useful for other policy areas.

The goal of traditional supply chain spare parts management is to maintain a minimum level of spare parts inventory whilst still being able to fulfil demand and maintain customer satisfaction. Much research has been undertaken to optimise product flow and optimise stock levels generally requiring transporting spare parts to the point of use from a centralised storage location. While moving from a decentralised to a centralised network can lower costs and improve service performance it will have a negative impact on the environment due the increase in transportation needs. It has been recognised that Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies have the potential to positively disrupt the supply chain by reducing the requirement to hold and transport stock, produce cost and lead time savings, while also guarding against supply chain disruption. This paper reports on the outcomes of a joint research project conducted between Bournemouth University (BU) and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to identify specific areas where additive manufacturing could be implemented into the organisation to have a positive impact on the supply chain and promote responsible innovation in their component design. The RNLI is a charity which operates using donations from members of the public and believe it imperative to produce efficiency across all areas of the organisation, and to spend money in the most effective ways. The project has analysed a number of engineering components alongside the RNLI’s supply chain data which has led to the development of two educational case studies which promote the benefits AM could offer the RNLI and the wider industry. The two specific components investigated were the ‘Mast Latch Handle’ and the ‘Sea Water Inlet Strainer’. The ‘Mast Latch Handle’ is an aluminium part manufactured traditionally from a stock piece of material. The ‘Sea Water Inlet Strainer’ is a component used on a variety of different lifeboat class’s, to stop debris from entering the engine cooling system. It is currently fabricated from a wrapped stainless steel sheet and two stainless steel flanges either end. Both case studies detail the redesign of the parts for AM providing equivalent or better performance, reduced weight, reduced cost and significantly shorter lead times. The project successfully demonstrated the advantages that additive manufacturing could have on the RNLI and their values. With the use of additive manufacturing, the RNLI now understand that they could achieve consolidated part reductions, reduced lead times, less material waste, weight reductions and reduced transportation. Using AM would lead to business and environmental advantages for the organisation. The project has resulted in AM being implemented as a focus into the RNLI engineering team time plan. Additive manufacturing is now at the forefront when new and existing engineering designs are conceived, and a manufacturing process is selected. Further work is required such as upskilling RNLI engineering teams on designing for AM, and on the execution of the AM process, followed by the implementation of an AM facility on site in RNLI Poole Headquarters.

BackgroundMortality data is routinely collected through verbal autopsy (VA), but narratives for injury deaths provide insufficient detail for intervention development. This presentation will summarise findings from a review of drowning VA narratives from four large health and demographic surveillance systems (HDSS) in Tanzania, and present recommendations for improved VA narrative collection.MethodsData on all drowning deaths for 2008–2014 were extracted from the records of four HDSS sites in Tanzania (representing 1.05 million people), by linking VA and cause of death records. 215 drowning deaths were identified, with 143 records included in the study; 73 records were rejected as they were incomplete.Findings30% of drowning deaths were amongst children aged 1–4 years and 70% of deaths were males. The most common location of deaths were rivers, wells, and ponds. The most common activity prior to drowning was playing near water for children, and fishing from a boat or crossing water for adults. However, narratives were very short and provided limited information that could be used to inform intervention design.ConclusionVA narratives are vital for understanding injury deaths and developing appropriate interventions but guidance on collecting narratives needs strengthening to ensure useful information is captured.Learning OutcomesImproved guidance is needed for collecting VA narratives for injury deaths, including drowning. It is recommended that this includes prompts to identify location and time of death, weather conditions, attempts to rescue or seek treatment after the injury, and the presence or use of relevant safety equipment.

Acoustic methods are routinely used to provide broad scale information on the geographical distribution of benthic marine habitats and sedimentary environments. Although single-frequency multibeam echosounder surveys have dominated seabed characterisation for decades, multifrequency approaches are now gaining favour in order to capture different frequency responses from the same seabed type. The aim of this study is to develop a robust modelling framework for testing the potential application and value of multifrequency (30, 95, and 300 kHz) multibeam backscatter responses to characterize sediments’ grain size in an area with strong geomorphological gradients and benthic ecological variability. We fit a generalized linear model on a multibeam backscatter and its derivatives to examine the explanatory power of single-frequency and multifrequency models with respect to the mean sediment grain size obtained from the grab samples. A strong and statistically significant (p < 0.05) correlation between the mean backscatter and the absolute values of the mean sediment grain size for the data was noted. The root mean squared error (RMSE) values identified the 30 kHz model as the best performing model responsible for explaining the most variation (84.3%) of the mean grain size at a statistically significant output (p < 0.05) with an adjusted r2 = 0.82. Overall, the single low-frequency sources showed a marginal gain on the multifrequency model, with the 30 kHz model driving the significance of this multifrequency model, and the inclusion of the higher frequencies diminished the level of agreement. We recommend further detailed and sufficient ground-truth data to better predict sediment properties and to discriminate benthic habitats to enhance the reliability of multifrequency backscatter data for the monitoring and management of marine protected areas.

BackgroundDrowning fatalities are a significant global health problem, with close to 400,000 people drowning each year worldwide. In the Republic of Ireland (ROI), approximately 135 people drown per annum, the majority of which are preventable incidents. International best practice calls for the use of evidence-based interventions to prevent drowning deaths. This research project aimed to improve the current scope and quality of drowning fatalities data available in Ireland, to facilitate optimal intervention design, and ultimately reduce drowning deaths.MethodsThis project consisted of three main stages. The first involved a scoping exercise designed to identify the extent of missing drowning fatality data, achieved by comparing source records for 2012–2013 held by the statutory body Irish Water Safety with official Irish death statistics. Means of increasing fatalities coverage were then investigated, including assessing media reports. Second, new drowning data taxonomies to enhance the detail of the data captured following a fatality were designed, and evaluated during an expert stakeholder workshop. Third, a novel Irish drowning fatalities database using these taxonomies was created for future use.ResultsFindings from the first stage indicated that records for 62% of drowning fatalities that occurred in Ireland during 2012–2013 were missing. The use of additional drowning data sources, including access to complimentary fatality records and media reports increased coverage considerably for this period. The proposed taxonomies were evaluated favourably during the workshop, and database uptake has been promising.ConclusionsDrowning fatality data quality and coverage in the ROI can be improved. The new database and taxonomies will serve as valuable future resources, with the potential to reliably inform prevention strategies and intervention design.

BackgroundOn average, 135 people drown in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) every year. There is growing recognition that coastal drowning fatalities in particular are a significant health concern.In order to inform the design of targeted prevention strategies for coastal areas in the ROI, this research study sought to enhance and augment current coastal drowning fatality records, and produce detailed statistical estimates in relation to these deaths.MethodsA coastal drowning dataset was compiled. To enhance data records, complimentary sources were investigated, including data from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and media reports. Unique coastal fatality cases were identified by location, name of victim (where possible), date of incident, and/or other identifiers as needed (such as age, gender). The fatality cause was then classified (e.g. due to accident, suspected self-harm etc.), and data analysed.ResultsComplimentary data sources improved the scope of initial records from documenting 70 coastal drowning fatalities, to records for 198 that occurred during this time period. Overall, coastal drowning deaths accounted for approximately 39% of all drowning fatalities that occurred in the ROI during 2010–2013. The majority of these were accidental deaths (48%), unspecified incidents (26.3%), due to suspected self-harm (24.7%), natural causes (0.5%) or assault (0.5%). Where gender and age were documented, it was found that males comprised 82% of fatalities (n = 124), and that those aged between 30–69 years accounted for 81% (n = 104) of coastal drowning deaths.ConclusionsCoastal drowning fatalities accounted for approximately 40% of all drownings that occurred in the ROI during 2010–2013. Findings suggest that coastal drowning interventions should focus on targeting males, and those above 30 years of age.

BackgroundIn the Republic of Ireland (ROI) 135 people drown annually, the majority of which are preventable deaths. Currently, substantial opportunities exist to develop upon the existing methods of managing fatality data in the ROI. The current study thus aimed to develop and evaluate a set of novel drowning data taxonomies, to better record drowning deaths in Irish waters. Improvements to this fatalities taxonomy will enhance accurate incident recording, and benefit subsequent intervention design.MethodsDevelopment of the ROI taxonomies was fourfold. First, member groups of the International Life Saving Federation (ILSF) were contacted for access to any drowning related data taxonomies available to them. A comparison study of the different taxonomies accessed through the email campaign was then conducted. Analyses involved contrasting and comparing items from the selected taxonomies and identifying valuable details for inclusion in the ROI set. Materials relevant to an Irish context were then adapted, and the taxonomies created. Last, a host of ROI-based water safety experts reviewed the proposed taxonomies during an interactive stakeholder workshop. This was conducted using the Interactive Management (IM) methodology, and yielded valuable recommendations, which were then incorporated to produce the definitive set of drowning data taxonomies.ResultsA novel set of drowning data taxonomies were designed and completed. These were evaluated favourably during the stakeholder workshop, with any expert feedback acknowledged and incorporated.ConclusionsThe quality of drowning fatality data records in the ROI can be improved by the current project activities. These taxonomies will be used to populate a drowning fatalities database, currently being designed in conjunction with this study. These will ultimately provide a high quality evidence base from which to inform intervention design in the ROI, and prevent further drowning fatalities.