Introduction:
Water Safety Awareness, a somewhat broad and vague term, is a process which opens opportunities to disseminate information that improves understanding and attitudes necessary to change behaviour around water and prevent injuries. There are limited financial resources available in Ireland to invest in such water safety awareness campaigns that target a wide range of people at risk of drowning. Therefore, Water Safety Ireland (WSI) advocates on three levels to raise the level of public water safety awareness.

Objectives:
Firstly, the approaches and impacts by which WSI advocates the media to highlight water safety issues will be outlined.

Methods:
Methods include awarding members of the public who rescue others from drowning and giving rescuers and rescuees a voice in the media to spread messaging that highlights the underlying causes of an accident and the desired alternative behaviour; advocating through those directly affected by drowning tragedies to campaign for greater awareness; and advocating with those who are appointed “Water Safety Ambassadors” as a result of being respected in public life for their celebrity status or exceptional achievements. Secondly, the approaches and impacts by which WSI advocates Government will be outlined, including the creation of a Strategic Development Plan (2023-2027), supported by Government and delivered at national and community level. Thirdly, the approaches and impacts by which WSI advocates partners to build a drowning prevention network of decision makers from relevant organisations will be outlined. Related issue-focused strategic communications initiatives will be outlined.

Results:
Audience reach was improved by using simple targeted messages that are age and gender sensitive. Templated drowning prevention messaging, available in a wide variety of formats but consistent in message, increased the opportunities for others to leverage across a wider entire network. Conclusions: A well-planned advocacy awareness-raising campaign is arguably one of the most efficient means of communicating water safety issues to specific communities at risk. Using high-profile individuals to convey messages can help establish trust, reach the target audience, and raise difficult sensitive issues. However, forcing too many messages into a campaign risks distracting from the core message. Including a call to action is crucial.

Key words: Drowning Prevention Advocacy

Water Safety Ireland - Galway - Ireland