IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE

Water Safety Implementation Project
(WSIP)

Why is implementation science important for drowning prevention intervention design and evaluation?

Year: 2022-present
Chief investigators: Malena Della Bona (PhD candidate) supervised by A/Prof. Justine Leavy, Dr Gemma Crawford, Prof Jonine Jancey.

Summary: This research aims to produce a conceptual implementation framework for drowning prevention interventions in high-income countries (HIC). The objectives are to:

Explore the role of implementation science in drowning prevention interventions as described in the literature within HICs.
Explore the real-world implementation of drowning prevention interventions in HICs.
Identify the key implementation science concepts relevant to drowning prevention interventions in HICs.
Design and test an implementation framework for drowning prevention interventions in HICs.
Synthesise findings and provide recommendations for appropriate implementation of drowning prevention interventions in HICs.

Impacts and Outputs: To support practitioners in the development and implementation of evidence-informed interventions in the real-world, this research aims to develop a conceptual implementation framework suitable for drowning prevention interventions in HIC.

The final product will enable those developing drowning prevention interventions to cross-reference their program design ensuring best practice implementation. This will go some way to answering the call to action in a global and Australian setting to address gaps in knowledge and build a base for the use of research in drowning prevention practice.

Publication 1: Using ERIC to assess implementation science in drowning prevention interventions in high-income countries: A systematic review

Malena Della Bona, Gemma Crawford, Brooklyn Royce, Jonine Jancey, Justine E Leavy. 2023. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

This systematic review identifies and describes the use of the Expert Recommendation for Implementing Chance (ERIC) concepts and strategies using public health approaches to drowning prevention interventions as a case study. Findings will inform further research into the use and measurement of implementation strategies by practitioners and researchers undertaking work in drowning prevention in HICs and supports a call to action for better documentation of implementation in public health interventions.

Click here to view the research article.

New Publication: Opportunities and challenges for implementation of drowning prevention and water safety interventions in high income countries: Insights from practitioners and researchers

Malena Della Bona, Gemma Crawford, Jonine Jancey, Justine E Leavy. 2025. Discover Public Health.

This qualitative study uses reflexive thematic analysis to provide insight into how drowning prevention and water safety initiatives are implemented in HICs, the factors affecting implementation and the identification of gaps in practice. This study sheds light on how drowning prevention interventions are implemented in practice, emphasising the need to clearly define and focus on the issue, engage communities in culturally and contextually appropriate ways, and reflect meaningfully on what success means in intervention outcomes. Findings of this study highlighted that those running interventions focus on the interplay of factors that influence implementation. The study illustrates how practitioners and researchers navigate the design, implementation, and evaluation of drowning prevention and water safety interventions.

Click here to view the research article.