Drowning prevention in the Spanish swimming pool legislation

Abstract

Background: Injuries in aquatic environments are linked to the effective compliance of the legal dispositions for swimming pools.

Goals: To identify the safety measures against the risk of drowning as exposed in the Spanish swimming pool health legislation and to propose regulatory solutions to guide preventive efforts.

Method: Descriptive design based on the documentary analysis of the 17 swimming pool sanitary regulations of the Spanish Autonomous Communities. Rules linked to the protection and prevention against the risk of drowning were selected and categorized into four areas of action: bathing area design, technical standard, water rescue service and user rules and policies.

Results: We found a large variability of regulatory requirements that could be improved. There is a lack of safety standards regarding the return water inlets to avoid bather entrapment. Limited attention was paid to the provision of means and conditions for enforcement of the water rescue services. The role of adults in the custody and supervision of minors during bathing is loosely mentioned in the regulations. The internal regime lacks rules disaggregated by vulnerable groups with an increased risk of drowning.

Conclusions: Drowning prevention demands a multidimensional approach that introduces modifications in regulatory dispositions to align their goals to increase the safety levels in swimming pools. These findings are valid to guide the legal efforts to reduce the impact of drownings.

Keywords: Environmental hazards, normative research, mortality, supervision, health promotion.