Table 2. Descriptive analyses of fatal coastal bystander rescue incidents.
| Incident-related Variables | Annual average (%) | Expected Proportion (%) | Test statistic (p-value) | Victim-related Variables | Annual average (%) | Expected Proportion (%) | Test statistic (p-value) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State a | Gender a | ||||||||
| NSW | 2.2 (49) | 49 | X2 = 17.994 (p = 0.013)E | Male | 3.6 (81) | 50 | Χ2 = 25.090 (p < 0.001) | ||
| VIC | 0.73 (16) | 16 | Female | 0.87 (19) | 50 | ||||
| QLD | 0.6 (13) | 13 | Age a | ||||||
| WA | 0.33 (7) | 7 | 0–17 | 0.2 (4) | 23 | X2 = 22.644 (p < 0.001)E | |||
| SA | 0.27 (6) | 6 | 18–29 | 1.07 (24) | 17 | ||||
| NT | 0.2 (4) | 4 | 30–44 | 1.6 (36) | 21 | ||||
| TAS | 0.13 (3) | 3 | 45–59 | 1.13 (25) | 19 | ||||
| Remoteness a | 60+ | 0.47 (10) | 19 | ||||||
| Major Cities | 1.27 (28) | 70 | X2 = 61.654 (p < 0.001)E | Activity before rescue attempt b | |||||
| Inner Regional | 1.93 (43) | 19 | Swimming/Wading | 3.13 (70) | 36 | X2 = 54.078 (p < 0.001)E | |||
| Outer Regional | 0.87 (19) | 9 | Rock Fishing | 0.33 (7) | 13 | ||||
| Remote/Very Remote | 0.4 (9) | 2 | Boating | 0.27 (6) | 21 | ||||
| Snorkelling/Scuba | 0.27 (6) | 12 | |||||||
| Season b | Land-based Fishing | 0.27 (6) | 1 | ||||||
| Summer | 2 (45) | 45 | X2 = 6.232 (p = 0.101)E | Other | 0.2 (4) | 16 | |||
| Autumn | 1.4 (31) | 34 | Visitor status b | ||||||
| Winter | 0.2 (4) | 4 | Local | 1.47 (35) | 30 | X2 = 10.470 (p = 0.033) | |||
| Spring | 0.87 (19) | 19 | Resident | 0.4 (10) | 26 | ||||
| Time of day b | Intrastate | 1.27 (31) | 27 | ||||||
| Morning | 0.67 (15) | 34 | X2 = 10.869 (p = 0.004) | Interstate | 0.53 (13) | 7 | |||
| Afternoon | 3.2 (72) | 54 | International | 0.47 (11) | 10 | ||||
| Evening | 0.6 (13) | 12 | Unknown | 0.33 (*) | * | ||||
| Night | 0 (*) | Toxicology b | |||||||
| Distance from Surf Lifesaving Services b | None | 3.8 (85) | 77 | X2 = 2.250 | |||||
| < 1 km | 1 (22) | 33 | X2 = 3.563 (p = 0.168) | Alcohol/Drugs | 0.67 (15) | 23 | (p = 0.134) | ||
| 1–5 km | 1.33 (30) | 23 | Birth continent a | ||||||
| > 5 km | 2.13 (48) | 44 | Australia/Oceania | 2.73 (68) | 76 | X2 = 64.639 (p < 0.015) | |||
| Location b | Asia | 0.87 (22) | 10 | ||||||
| Beach | 2.87 (64) | 50 | X2 = 9.421 (p = 0.024)E | Europe | 0.4 (10) | 11 | |||
| Rocks/Cliff | 1 (22) | 20 | Unknown | 0.47 (*) | * | ||||
| Offshore | 0.27 (6) | 18 | Continent of residence a | ||||||
| Bay/ Marina /Jetty | 0.33 (8) | 12 | Australia | 3.87 (88) | 78 | X2 = 1.078 (p = 0.583)E | |||
| Asia | 0.4 (9) | 13 | |||||||
| Rip presence b | Europe | 0.27 (6) | 6 | ||||||
| Yes | 3.07 (73) | 23 | X2 = 88.793 (p < 0.001) | Unknown | 0.07 (*) | * | |||
| No | 1.13 (27) | 77 | Rescuee relationship d | ||||||
| Unknown | 0.27 (*) | * | Family | 3.07 (69) | 25 | X2 = 69.537 | |||
| Flotation device used c | Friend | 0.67 (15) | 25 | (p < 0.001) | |||||
| Yes | 0.13 (3) | 50 | z = 64.000 (p < 0.001) | Stranger | 0.4 (9) | 25 | |||
| No | 4.33 (97) | 50 | Other | 0.33 (7) | 25 | ||||
| Day of week d | Rescuee age c | ||||||||
| Weekend day | 2.2 (49) | 29 | X2 = 13.348 (p < 0.001) | Child (<18) | 2.73 (64) | 50 | z = 41.00 (p = 0.034) | ||
| Weekday | 2.27 (51) | 71 | Adult (18+) | 1.53 (36) | 50 | ||||
| Other/Unknown | 0.2 (*) | * | |||||||
* Shows excluded variables, bold text denote significance, subscripts denote analysis method. Annual average is presented for ethical requirements.
a Proportions compared with mean population proportions (2004–19)
b proportions compared against non-rescue incidents (2004–19)
c one-sample binomial analysis
d one-sample chi-square analysis
E shows p-value reported is Fishers Exact Test.