Bystander Rescues

A topic of increasing importance within the field of beach safety research is that of bystander rescues. The term ‘bystander’ describes any member of the public, be they family, friend or stranger, attempting to rescue someone in distress. While bystander rescues clearly occur and save many lives, particularly in the case of surfers, it is not uncommon for bystander rescuers to drown in the process of attempting a rescue. The significance of the bystander rescue issue is evident by the fact that one of the ten actions recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reduce drowning is to ‘train bystanders in safe rescue and resuscitation’.

There has been some excellent work conducted on the bystander drowning issue by, amongst others,Richard FranklinofJames Cook UniversityandKevin Moran(Auckland University). More recently, researchers at UNSW collaborated with Surf Life Saving Australia to conduct surveys of Australians who had conducted a bystander rescue in an aquatic environment, with the goal to gain more evidence-based information that could help guide future public education strategies for bystander rescue scenarios. Thestudyclearly showed that despite having a strong water safety culture, there is no clear consensus in Australia regarding the most appropriate actions bystanders should take when faced with a potential aquatic rescue situation – our group is interested in expanding the evidence base by conducting more research into effective education interventions for the issue of bystander rescues.