Development of Child-Resistant Latches to Prevent Child Access to Home Swimming Pools

Abstract

Drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death for U.S. children under 5 years of age, and the majority of childhood drownings occur in home swimming pools. Self-latching devices on pool gates and house doors represent an environmental strategy for preventing unauthorized access to the pool area. However, operation of most currently available self-latching devices is believed to be within the capabilities of many children in the at-risk age group, and the human factors requirements of a latch that must be inoperable by young children yet operable by intended users have not been explored. This paper describes the development and testing of self-latching devices that are more child-resistant than existing products. Functional requirements of latches were based on the following considerations: epidemiological data on residential swimming pool drownings; anthropometric, motor, and cognitive characteristics relevant to latch operation by both intended and unintended users; user acceptance of prevention efforts; and codes addressing egress requirements for exit doors. After the target age group for child-resistance and the minimum intended user age were defined, functional requirements were identified. A multidisciplinary project team developed and evaluated a wide range of potential designs, and, from these, five promising latch treatments were selected and developed into prototypes. Testing of the latch designs indicates that they are highly effective in preventing access through doors or gates by children in the peak age risk group.