TY - JOUR
T1 - An Expert-Novice Comparison of Lifeguard Specific Vigilance Performance
AU - Sharpe, Benjamin T.
AU - Smith, Marcus S.
AU - Williams, Steven C. R.
AU - Talbot, Jo
AU - Runswick, Oliver
AU - Smith, Jenny
N1 - Funding Information:
Pre-registration as well as data are available on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/xh9zv/). The authors hold no conflicts of interest associated with the publication of the following manuscript. Ethical approval for the study protocol was awarded by the lead institution.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s)
PY - 2023/5/24
Y1 - 2023/5/24
N2 - Introduction: Lifeguards must maintain alertness and monitor an aquatic space across extended periods. However, lifeguard research has yet to investigate a lifeguard's ability to maintain performance over time and whether this is influenced by years of certified experience or the detection difficulty of a drowning incident. The aim of this study was to examine whether lifeguard experience, drowning duration, bather number, and time on task influences drowning detection performance. Method: A total of 30 participants took part in nine 60-minute lifeguard specific tasks that included 11 drowning events occurring at five-minute intervals. Each task had manipulated conditions that acted as the independent variables, including bather number and drowning duration. Results: The experienced group detected a greater number of drowning events per task, compared to novice and naïve groups. Findings further highlighted that time, bather number, and drowning duration has a substantial influence on lifeguard specific drowning detection performance. Practical Applications: It is hoped that the outcome of the study will have applied application in highlighting the critical need for lifeguard organizations to be aware of a lifeguard's capacity to sustain attention, and for researchers to explore methods for minimizing any decrement in vigilance performance.
AB - Introduction: Lifeguards must maintain alertness and monitor an aquatic space across extended periods. However, lifeguard research has yet to investigate a lifeguard's ability to maintain performance over time and whether this is influenced by years of certified experience or the detection difficulty of a drowning incident. The aim of this study was to examine whether lifeguard experience, drowning duration, bather number, and time on task influences drowning detection performance. Method: A total of 30 participants took part in nine 60-minute lifeguard specific tasks that included 11 drowning events occurring at five-minute intervals. Each task had manipulated conditions that acted as the independent variables, including bather number and drowning duration. Results: The experienced group detected a greater number of drowning events per task, compared to novice and naïve groups. Findings further highlighted that time, bather number, and drowning duration has a substantial influence on lifeguard specific drowning detection performance. Practical Applications: It is hoped that the outcome of the study will have applied application in highlighting the critical need for lifeguard organizations to be aware of a lifeguard's capacity to sustain attention, and for researchers to explore methods for minimizing any decrement in vigilance performance.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171284184&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.08.014
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2023.08.014
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-4375
JO - JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH
JF - JOURNAL OF SAFETY RESEARCH
ER -