Abstract
Drowning is a prevalent problem in South Africa, particularly among young children and in poor communities. International studies indicate water safety training and awareness contributes significantly to reducing drowning incidents. Drowning prevention modules, forming part of school-based swimming training, support preventative measures. However, there is no prescribed or recommended equipment for this essential training. Currently, swimming instructors have two options for assistive devices: commercially available equipment used by swimmers (i.e., pool noodles and kickboards) or recycled products. This study has established that, although there is no prescribed or recommended equipment for this essential training, most instructors use swimming aids / flotation devices such as pool noodles and kickboards to help learners become familiar with new techniques. However, in some contexts, due to a lack of funds/equipment available, swimming instructors and teachers are implementing an unorthodox approach by using empty plastic bottles as assistive devices during the water safety training sessions. This study has identified an opportunity to design a low-cost, contextually appropriate assistive device for water safety training, following a human-centred design (HCD) approach. The research design followed the three HCD phases of inspiration, ideation and implementation. The inspiration phase involved qualitative data gathering by means of an in-depth literature review, a precedent study and field research investigating the market of existing swimming aids and the needs/requirements of swimming instructors and learners during swimming training. Insights gathered in this phase were thematically analysed in order to define a set of design requirements, considerations and constraints. The ideation phase explored three concept directions through iterations of the design (sketching), making (prototyping), testing (user feedback) and refining the design cycle. User feedback formed an integral part of the design iterations, ultimately guiding and refining the chosen direction. Finally, the implementation phase included the refinement, testing and final analysis of the proposed design solution.
M.A. (Design)