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A method of measuring recreational boating exposure

The development of marine safety measures for recreational boaters is hampered by the absence of reliable exposure data in relation to the amount of time spent boating. Vessel registration, injury and fatality data do not take into account the frequency and length of time boaters spend on the water and are therefore not true measures of risk. A more accurate measure of exposure is needed to take into account how often and how long boaters spend on the water. The purpose of our pilot study was to investigate the use of a diary to collect boating exposure information from recreational boaters. Fifty-five recreational boaters from metropolitan and regional areas of Western Australia were recruited at boat ramps and boat shows and asked to complete a boating diary for a six-month period. The boaters were randomly assigned one of two boating diaries, a paper diary or a fridge diary, and given the option of being contacted by telephone or email for the duration of the study. Both diaries collected information about the day of the week boaters used their vessel, how long they spent on the water, the boating activity they were involved in, where they went and how many people were on board. Participants were asked to complete a diary entry upon return from each boating trip they made during the period. They were then contacted on a monthly basis to retrieve diary records or reminded to return their paper diary records. A post-diary telephone interview was conducted at the end of the study to gather feedback on the two methods. The study had an overall recruitment rate of 49% and a retention rate of 72.7%. Recruitment at boat shows gave a higher refusal rate than recruitment at boat ramps (51% and 18% respectively). A total of 267 completed diaries were returned out of a possible 293, representing a completion rate of 91.1%. There was no difference between the type of diary and the completion rate. More than one-half of participants went boating during the six-month period (54.2%), making a total of 535 trips and spending a total of 2,821.5 hours on the water. Forty-seven per cent of these trips were made on weekdays and 56% of the trips were for fishing. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to report the use of boating diaries over a period of time. We found that the boating diary was an effective method for collecting exposure information and that participants used the diary with ease. Recruitment was the most significant challenge for the study, but once boaters initially agreed to participate and returned data for the first month, they tended to remain in the study and continued sending diary records until the end. The success of the study can be credited to the collection of information from boaters on a regular basis and using a contact method that met the individual needs of participants. Based on the results of this study, recruiting at boat shows, using a paper diary format and contacting participants through email were the most timely and cost-effective methods and would be recommended for collecting the boating exposure information on a larger scale over a longer time period. A much larger study is required if accurate calculations of the risk of injury among recreational boaters are to be made.