Building Swimming Skills in a Community Based Program for Black Youth: An Evaluation

Authors

Tyler Lennon MD, MPH, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WIFollow
Ashley Hayes MPH, Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center, Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.Follow
Leonardo Barrera MPH, Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center, Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.Follow
Amy Hill MS, MPH, Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USAFollow
Andy Miner, Wildkit Aquatics, Club Water Polo, Evanston Township High SchoolFollow
Michelle Macy MD, MS, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center, Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.Follow

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Exercise Science | Health and Physical Education | Kinesiology | Leisure Studies | Public Health | Sports Management | Sports Sciences | Sports Studies

Abstract

Black youth in the United States disproportionately experience fatal drowning at rates up to five times higher than their white peers. Eliminating these inequities requires new approaches that address historical and structural barriers of learning to swim. The objective of this study was to evaluate the three-week long swimming component of a community-based discovery program to empower Black youth in Evanston, IL. Participants were Black youth ages 8-10 years enrolled in summer 2023 and 2024. Swim skills were assessed by instructors using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Water Competence (PSPWC). Caregiver surveys, collected post-intervention, also assessed perceived changes in swim skills and attitudes toward swim safety. Sixty-four youth completed the program (46 boys and 18 girls with nine boys and one girl participating in both years) and 36 caregivers completed the survey. Median instructor-rated PSPWC scores improved from 28 (interquartile range (IQR) 27, 38) to 48 (IQR 38, 48), p-value

Recommended Citation

Lennon, Tyler MD, MPH; Hayes, Ashley MPH; Barrera, Leonardo MPH; Hill, Amy MS, MPH; Miner, Andy; and Macy, Michelle MD, MS (2025) "Building Swimming Skills in a Community Based Program for Black Youth: An Evaluation," International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education: Vol. 15: No. 1, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ijare/vol15/iss1/3