OM DENNE EPISODE
June 1, 2026: Dr Will Koon: Beyond Warning Signs: Rethinking Drowning Prevention in Hawaiʻi
Dr. Will Koon is a drowning prevention researcher with Royal Life Saving Australia whose work focuses on understanding who is drowning, why they are drowning, and how communities can reduce risk through better data and targeted interventions. He has been involved in Australia's National Water Safety Strategy and is part of a broader effort that has helped drive significant reductions in drowning over the past two decades.
What makes Dr. Koon's perspective particularly valuable is his emphasis on systems thinking. Rather than focusing solely on hazards or education, he examines how data, behavior, policy, tourism, lifeguard services, and community partnerships work together to influence drowning risk. One of his central messages is that effective drowning prevention is not simply about warning people about hazards it is about preparing people and systems before they encounter risk.
What If We've Been Asking the Wrong Question? For years, water safety efforts have focused on warning people about hazards. But a recent discussion with international experts suggests a different approach: instead of asking how we warn people, we should be asking how we prepare people and systems before they ever encounter risk. Effective prevention requires understanding who is drowning, where, when, and why, and then designing solutions that fit those specific risks.The Data Challenge. Another major theme was data. While Hawaiʻi's drowning rate is among the highest in the United States, participants noted that the numbers we typically discuss only tell part of the story. Non-fatal drowning incidents may outnumber fatal drownings many times over, yet these events are often poorly tracked despite their significant physical, emotional, and financial impacts. The discussion also highlighted a challenge unique to Hawaiʻi. Nearly half of drowning deaths involve visitors, and snorkeling fatalities are heavily concentrated among tourists.Drowning Is a Systems Problem. The group repeatedly returned to the idea that drowning is a systems problem, not simply an individual problem. Australia's progress in reducing childhood drownings has been attributed to multiple strategies working together: pool fencing, parent education, supervision campaigns, early water familiarization, public awareness, and policy changes.Building Water Competence. The discussion also examined Junior Lifeguard programs and water competence education.
Creating a Culture of Safety. Experts suggested that meaningful progress may come not from more warnings but from creating social norms around safe behavior. Perhaps the most important takeaway was that drowning prevention is not primarily about responding to emergencies. It is about creating conditions that prevent emergencies from occurring in the first place. But the strongest lesson from this discussion is that drowning prevention begins long before anyone enters the water.
The question is no longer:How do we teach water safety?The question is:How do we make water safety part of who we are, not just something we teach?
Hawaiʻi is surrounded by water. The ocean is where we play, work, gather, celebrate, and connect. If that's true, then water safety can't be an add-on. It must become part of our culture.Because lasting change will not come from a single program, sign, or safety message.It will come when understanding the ocean, respecting its power, and making safe choices around water become part of everyday life in Hawaiʻi.
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