Thesis (M.P.H.)--University of Western Australia, 2006.

[Truncated abstract] Introduction, Little is known about the prevalence of post-course diving injuries amongst Western Australian recreational divers, nor is it known which risk factors affect the Western Australian diver’s likelihood of sustaining a diving injury. Objective, The aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of diving-related injuries amongst Western Australians with varying experience since certification as entry-level divers within Western Australia (WA). Specifically, the study compared divers’ experience, behaviour and equipment with their diving injury history. It was hypothesised that diving experience has an effect upon the likelihood of a certified diver suffering any of the diving injuries most commonly reported amongst international diving populations. In addition, the strength of association between diving injuries and other potential risk factors was measured amongst certified Western Australian divers. Methods, A cross sectional survey of Western Australians, whom had completed a recognized entry-level recreational scuba diving course within WA, formed the basis of the study. Diver training facilities within WA posted a four-page questionnaire to divers they had trained to entry-level within the previous six years. The self-administered questionnaire collected data describing the divers’ post-course participation in scuba diving, injury prevalence during the last year, demographic characteristics and prevalence of known or hypothesized diving injury risk factors ... Conclusion, In this study diving experience, measured by the number of dives made during the previous year and the total number of dives made since certification, has not been found associated with the likelihood of reporting having suffered at least one diving injury of any type whilst diving during the previous year. Whilst the limited response rate and self-reporting methodology threaten the validity of the findings of this study, the findings improve our understanding of the type of diving injuries commonly suffered by divers, and of which risk factors are associated with a diver’s likelihood of suffering a diving related injury within WA. These findings may assist the design of further diving injury research, ultimately leading to the design of diving safety interventions aimed at reducing the prevalence of diving injuries amongst Western Australian recreational divers.