Safe play areas for prevention of young children drowning in farm dams

Abstract

Injuries are the leading cause of death to young children in rural Australia, with drowning in farm dams being a major risk. This paper assesses the impact of an intervention to increase safe play areas on farms to prevent unsupervised access by young children to water bodies and other hazards. Surveys of 1,117 adult farmers attending Ag Quip Agricultural Field Days in NSW between 2003 and 2007 were used to identify the child security level of fences and changes in the percentage of farms with fenced house yards. Over this four-year period, the percentage of people who had a fenced yard on their farm ranged from 75 per cent to 79 per cent with no significant fluctuations. However, those with a safe play area who stated the area was difficult/almost impossible for a child 0-5yrs to breach, ranged from 40 per cent to 55 per cent over the period, with a statistically significant positive trend (Χ2=13.46 df=4 p≤.01). Actions to improve child safety on farms and recall of child farm safety messages in the media in association with programs promoting securely fenced house yards are also discussed. In order to affect further reduction in child drowning incidents, there is an ongoing need to promote improved security of fenced house yards on farms in Australia.