ABSTRACT
Violent incidents, terrorist attacks, senseless shootings, health issues such as the Coronavirus, and natural disasters call attention to managerial leadership in crisis situations. Yukl and Van Fleet (1982) did the seminal work on this topic extended by Peterson and Van Fleet (2008) and Peterson et al. (2012). More recently, Geier (2016) reported findings based on firefighters while Htway and Casteel (2015) and Kapucu and Ustun (2018) studied public sector organizations. Since these studies all involved nonprofit organizations, an extension to for-profit organizations is warranted. There are differences between profit organizations and not-for-profit organizations (Collins, 2001;Collins, 2005). Because of the goals involved, there may be differences in the managerial leadership behaviors required by these types of organizations. Hannah and Parry (2013) specifically recommend expanding leadership research to many different extreme situations in an effort to understand different managerial leadership behaviors that adapt to varying crisis situations. Two samples reported here identify the critical managerial leadership behaviors desired by for-profit organizational participants in both stable and crisis situations. Finally, implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.
ABSTRACT
Background: Every year, many people die due to drowning and its complications as a severe health problem in Northern provinces. The first step in planning health problems in any society is to prioritize problems based on epidemiological trends. This is an epidemiological study on drowning missions performed by Mazandaran Emergency Medical Services for 5 years. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on mission forms of all drowning victims in Mazandaran pre-hospital emergency from the beginning of 2017 to August 1400. The data of age, gender, drowning place, mission result (dispatch, mission cancellation, outpatient treatment, and death), and accident time and date were collected and analyzed using SPSS Software (Version 19) and the chi-square test. Results: Out of the 1127 rescued drowning cases, most incidents occurred between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM and between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM. A total of 720 cases (63.9%) were men and the remaining 407 cases (36.1%) were women. In addition, 506 (44.9%) cases were dispatched, 167 (14.8%) died, 341 (30.3%) were treated on-site, and the remaining 10% of missions were canceled. Most cases of drowning were in the age group of 20-30 years old. The most common place of drowning was in the unpatrolled area of the beach with 891 cases (79%). Following the COVID19 spread and lockdown in 2020-2021, the drowning cases in the river and water channels increased so that 9 cases in 2017 reached 101 cases in August 2021. Conclusion: Most of the drowning cases occurred in unpatrolled areas among the young and productive age group of society. Development and maintenance of protected swimming beaches, as well as public education on first aid for drowning victims, seem necessary. Further, public warning and relief systems should be strengthened to make people aware of the dangers of swimming in unpatrolled and unsafe areas.
ABSTRACT
BackgroundDrowning is the leading cause of death among 1–4 years-old children in Bangladesh. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered personal and family behaviors that may directly or indirectly impact drowning-prevention activities. The CIPRB is intervening with a package consisting of the Anchals (community-daycare centers), family-education, community-sensitization, and stakeholder-awareness to prevent child-drowning <5children in rural Bangladesh. Due to the closure of over 3,000 Anchals in pandemic, approximately 70,000 rural children were unable to access Anchal supervision services. The study’s aim was to examine the COVID-19 impact of child-drowning in rural Bangladesh before and during the pandemic.MethodsBetween March 2019-February 2021, passive surveillance was conducted in 45-unions in rural Bangladesh, covering nearly one-million people. Information on fatal-drowning events was collected by using a pre-tested structured questionnaire.ResultsCompared to the pre-pandemic year, fatal-drowning rates were 70.8% higher. Before the pandemic, the under-5 fatal-drowning rate was 16.6/100,000/year;95% CI 10.2–26.9, while during the pandemic, the rate was 38.4/100,000/year;95% CI 27.8–52.9. Boys (61.4%) had higher rates, and the majority of drownings happened near dwellers’ homes. Ponds and ditches were the most common drowning locations (69.1%), and nearly all drownings (98%) happened throughout the day between 09:00–17:00.ConclusionThe fatal-drowning rate during the pandemic was consistently higher compared to the rates in the intervening areas before the pandemic. The absence of child supervision services might have caused higher rates of child-drowning.Learning OutcomesUsing this study approach could provide a means to quantify the pre-and-post COVID-19 impact on drowning globally.
ABSTRACT
ContextDespite significant reductions in toddler drowning deaths over time, drowning continues to be one of the leading causes of accidental death for Australian children under 5 years of age.Kidsafe has delivered the Safe Barriers Save Lives backyard pool safety campaign for the past 10 years, and recently launched a new campaign focused on lesser-known common drowning hazards.ProcessWith a long-running campaign and changes to how audiences consume content as a result of COVID-19 and technological advances, Kidsafe sought to reinvigorate its approach to increase campaign effectiveness and increase impact. Two new campaign video series have been developed which utilise different approaches and themes to appeal to a wide range of audiences.The first video series, ‘Through My Eyes’, features real-life personal stories from parents about non-fatal and fatal child drownings to raise awareness and highlight key messages. Kidsafe has worked with many families who have been impacted forever by the loss of a child from a preventable injury, and have now focused on working with them to remember their child, as well as create their legacy in the community by saving future lives.The second video series, ‘Water Safety Classes’, utilises a light-hearted, humorous approach towards water safety. The videos feature child ‘teachers’ teaching an adult about their perception of what is water safety, while correct messages are highlighted on screen.Outcomes & LearningsEvaluation of the new video series is currently being conducted. Preliminary results have shown that the mixed approach has been effective in resonating with the audience, with high reach and engagement levels achieved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered personal and group behaviors that may directly or indirectly affect other public health issues. This paper examines if and how COVID-19 indirectly influenced beach safety and drownings within the Great Lakes region using daily drowning data from 2020 in comparison to historical trends in drownings pre-COVID. Results suggest that the number of beach drownings in the Great Lakes region was significantly greater compared to the pre-COVID period of 2010-2019. Statistically significant increases in drownings were observed in Lake Michigan (+14), Lake Ontario (+11) and Lake Huron (+4), while no change and a slight decrease was observed in Lake Superior and Lake Erie respectively. Drownings were lower than the historical average early in the pandemic but began to increase as stay-at-home orders were lifted through June and July. It is argued that the increase in drowning is due to a combination of reduced local lifeguard resources, cancelled swimming lessons, large beach crowds, warm weather, high-water levels and self-isolation fatigue. Whether in the Great Lakes region or elsewhere around the world, beach safety cannot be sacrificed in a future public health emergency by budget cuts or by reducing the focus of lifeguards with enforcement of social distancing.