Case study — the DIVE-PL diving survey
DIVE-PL is demonstrated on a real, registered study: a cross-sectional online survey of recreational divers in Poland. This page describes the instrument the framework produced.
Aim
To assess health status, physical fitness, and safety/training knowledge in relation to the occurrence of diving-related adverse events among recreational divers in Poland.
Specific objectives: estimate cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) from a non-exercise questionnaire; assess knowledge of decompression sickness (DCS), barotrauma and safe-diving rules; determine the frequency of DCS/barotrauma symptoms; identify risky behaviours; and test associations between training level, fitness, health and adverse events.
Design
Cross-sectional, observational, non-interventional, anonymous online questionnaire (about 12–18 minutes). No clinical procedures or biological sampling; minimal risk.
Population
Adults (≥18 years) resident in Poland who completed at least one dive in the past 24 months.
Instrument sections
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Demographics | age, sex, height/weight (BMI), residence |
| Diving exposure & training | certification level (OWD / AOWD / higher), number of dives, years of experience, organisation |
| Health status | chronic conditions, medications, contraindications |
| Physical fitness | physical-activity rating (PA-R) for VO2max estimation |
| Safety knowledge | DCS, barotrauma and safe-diving rules — tested at three difficulty levels |
| Risky behaviours | smoking, alcohol before diving, diving beyond certification |
| Adverse events | self-reported DCS / barotrauma symptoms and diving incidents |
Fitness estimation
VO2max is estimated with the University of Houston Non-Exercise Test from PA-R, age, BMI and sex — a low-cost, scalable proxy used here in a diving population.
Hypotheses
- H1. Higher certification (AOWD and above) is associated with better knowledge of diving-related health hazards.
- H2. Lower estimated VO2max is associated with a higher frequency of adverse events in the diving history.
- H3. Risky behaviours (smoking, pre-dive alcohol) are more frequent among divers with lower certification.
Endpoint & analysis
Primary endpoint: the proportion of divers reporting at least one diving-related adverse event. Associations with certification level, estimated VO2max, BMI and other factors are analysed using multivariable logistic regression.
Ethics & registration
Approved by the Bioethics Committee, Medical University of Białystok (protocol APK.002.228.2026). Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT number pending). GDPR/RODO-compliant and fully anonymous; no participant data are published here.
Validity caveat. VO2max is estimated, not measured. Prior fitness–adverse-event evidence used directly measured VO2max; testing the proxy is part of the study. See Limitations.