Dr William Koon

PhD (2024), School of BEES, UNSW Sydney

Will completed his PhD ‘Expanding the evidence base for the prevention of coastal drowning’ in 2024 the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at UNSW Sydney under the supervision of Professor Rob Brander and Dr Amy Peden

Prior to his PhD, Will spent over a decade working as a professional ocean lifeguard in California, and has experience in lifeguard rescue boat operations, emergency communications, emergency medical service delivery, and beach management. He completed a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Washington in Seattle where he focused his studies on injury epidemiology and biostatistics, specifically related to drowning and ocean lifeguarding. Will has also worked as a consultant in California specializing in drowning prevention and open water lifeguarding, managing a diverse array of projects for municipal agencies, councils and other land managers, hospitals, non-profit organizations and start-up private enterprises. He now works as the National Manager for Drowning Prevention Strategy for Royal Life Saving Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.

Will is a founding board member of the California Water Safety Coalition, a collaborating member of the International Drowning Research Alliance and the Grupo Internacional de Actividades de Prevención y Socorrismo (GIAPS) [International Group of rescue and prevention activities], and the inaugural Ben Carlson Memorial Doctoral Research Fellow.

Research Interests:

Beach injury and coastal drowning epidemiology
Ocean lifeguard data collection methods and analysis
Ocean lifeguard effectiveness and training
Beach safety prevention and education measures

Recent Beach Safety Related Publications (last 5 years):

Cornell, S., Brander, R.W., Roberts, A., Koon, W., Peden, A., Lawes, J.C. (2023). “I actually thought that I was going to die”: lessons on the rip current hazard from survivor experiences. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.785

Koon, W., Peden, A.E., Brander, R.W. (2023). Impact of a surfer rescue training program in Australia and New Zealand: a mixed methods evaluation. BMC Public Health, 23: 2193. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17057-2

Koon, W., Peden, A.E., Lawes, J.C., Brander, R.W. (2023). Mortality trends and the impact of exposure on Australian coastal drowning deaths, 2004-2021. Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 47(2), 100034. https://doi.org/10.10.16/j.anzph.2023.100034

Koon, W., Brander, R.W., Alonzo, D., Peden, A.E. (2023). Lessons learned from co-designing a high school beach safety education program with lifeguards and students. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 34(1): 222-231. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.664

Koon, W., Brander, R.W., Dusek, G., Castelle, B., Lawes, J.C. (2023). Relationships between the tide and fatal drowning at surf beaches in New South Wales, Australia: implications for coastal safety management and practice. Ocean and Coastal Management, 238:106584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2023.106584

Lawes, J.C., Koon, W., Berg, I., van de Schoot, D., Peden, A.E. (2023). The epidemiology, risk factors and impact of exposure on unintentional surfer and bodyboarder deaths. PLoS ONE, 18(5): e0285928 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0285928

Uebelhoer, L., Koon, W., Harley, M.D., Lawes, J.C., Brander, R.W. (2022). Characteristics and beach safety knowledge of beachgoers on unpatrolled surf beaches in Australia. Natural Hazards and Earth Systems Sciences, 22:909-926. https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-909-2022

Woods, M., Koon, W., Brander, R.W. (2022). Identifying risk factors for beach drowning prevention amongst an Australian multicultural community. PLoS One, 17(1): e0262175 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0262175

Koon, W., Peden, A., Lawes, J.C., Brander, R.W. (2021). Coastal drownings: A scoping review of burden, risk factors, and prevention strategies. PLoS One, 16(2): e0246034 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246034

Lawes, J.C., Uebelhoer, L., Koon, W., Strasiotto, L., Anne, F., Daw, S., Brander, R.W., Mulcahy, N., Peden, A.E. (2021). Understanding a population: a methodology for a population-based coastal safety survey. PLoS ONE, 16(8): e0256202 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256202

Will's Blogs

Instagram Grant: Water Safety at Selfie Hot Spots

The selfie is a modern phenomena which can have tragic consequences. Temporary lack of self-awareness and concentration can lead to slips and falls; chasing the perfect selfie can lead people to visit risky locations at hazardous times.

Coastal Drowning Trends: Costa Rican Nationals vs Visitors

Costa Rica has some of the world's best beaches and is a top-rated global tourist destination. Unfortunately, Costa Rican beaches are also dangerous and drowning among tourists has been a particular problem.

2021 Beach Safety Technology Conference

More than two hundred beach safety professionals and researchers from all over the world participated in the 2021 Beach Safety Technology Conference, "an international forum exploring the use and development of technology for ocean lifeguards, beach safety professionals and researchers." The free conference was hosted for free by the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Beach Safety Research Group and Smart Beaches.

Reviewing Coastal Drowning Science

We reviewed 146 coastal drowning studies from around the world in an attempt to characterise the peer-reviewed scientific literature in the field. This study aimed to identify the key concepts, findings, evidence and gaps in the science in order to help guide future research and inform prevention activities.

Lifeguard Data Collection

Lifeguard data has been used in drowning research since the 1980s, and a few challenges have previously been identified. However, what and how that information is recorded hasn’t been formally examined until now.

Lifeguard Data Collection Shared - WCDP 2019

Dr. Andrew Schmidt from Lifeguards Without Borders presented preliminary results from the International Lifeguard Data Collection Survey at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Durban, South Africa - thanks Andrew!

Background: Lifeguard Data Collection Survey

Back in 2017 at the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Vancouver, a group of us lifeguard-researcher-nerd types were talking at the International Drowning Researcher’s Alliance (IDRA) meeting.