We decided to place our sticker on a lifeguard at the Temple Terrace Parks and Recreation Center. This was chosen because lifeguards serve as a large public health measure towards preventing deaths caused by drownings. This location was chosen because the recreational center offers many different activities both for children and adults, so it is a highly populated area. They have swimming pools open year round and a lifeguard on duty at all times. The presence of lifeguards is important to public health because they ensure the safety of the community during water activities. Before the usage of lifeguards, rates of water related injuries and deaths were higher due to a lack of nearby personnel trained in CPR. The C.D.C reports “more than three-quarters of drownings occurred at times when beaches were unguarded.” This means that many drownings could have been prevented by the presence of lifeguards. According to the CDC, “drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death for children ages 1 to 14 years.” Public health is concerned with lowering incidences of drowning and educating the community about the issue. Laws on lifeguards vary from state to state, but Florida law states that every public, nonresidential pool is required to have a lifeguard on duty at all hours of operation and must be “certified by the American Red Cross, the Y.M.C.A., or other nationally recognized aquatic training programs.” Requiring certification ensures that all lifeguards receive the same level of education and important skills of CPR, AED operation and the ability to discern distressed swimmers. However, no system is perfect and research has shown that approximately 20% of drowning deaths occur when lifeguards are present. Lifeguarding, like all public health measures, is a work in progress to improve the health of the community and, ultimately, mortality rates.
-Hyacinth, Deidre, Dayalis, and Michelle
Sources:
http://statutes.laws.com/florida/TitleXXXIII/chapter514/514_071
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsDrowningRisks/
http://www.poseidon-tech.com/us/statistics.html
http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/pubs/LifeguardReport-a.pdf
I loved this idea because when my group was deciding where to put our sticker, we wanted to put it on a person but couldn't find a person. I found this idea very creative but also not quite helpful because the sticker is either going to come off, get ruined, or ruin the shirt; the overall picture is to keep the sticker there to spread awareness of Public Health. I love though all the information, sources, and idea.
ReplyDeleteThis is great & I would never think to put a sticker there. Lifeguards are public health. In some places, you're not even allowed to swim unless there's a lifeguard on duty. It sure does make people feel at ease knowing that there's someone qualified and ready to save our lives if we need it.
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