Childhood Drowning: Barriers Surrounding Private Swimming Pools

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective. To investigate the causes of child drowning and determine the need for changes in the legislation as well as improvements to the inspection and enforcement of current legislation related to barriers surrounding private swimming pools.Methods. There were 3 stages to the study: a retrospective review of coroner's data, an audit of swimming pool inspections, and in-depth interviews with swimming pool inspectors in Western Australia. The incidence of childhood drowning (per population) and compliance rates of swimming pools (per 1000 swimming pools) to the legislation were measured.Results. During the 12-year observational period (1988 -2000) 50 children younger than 5 years drowned in private swimming pools in Western Australia with an overall incidence of drowning of 4.4 per 100 000 children per year. Sixty-eight percent of drownings occurred in pools that did not have 4-sided fencing with an almost 2-fold increased risk (incidence rate ratio: 1.78; 95% confidence interval: 1.40 -1.79) of a child's drowning in a swimming pool with 3-sided versus 4-sided fencing. The compliance rate of swimming pools (compliance to the current legislation) at first inspection was approximately 400 per 1000 swimming pools.Conclusions. Almost two thirds of the swimming pools in which children drowned had only 3-sided fencing. With a combination of a change in legislation, enhanced inspection processes, and public education, the incidence of drowning in private swimming pools in Western Australia could be reduced in the coming years. Pediatrics 2003;111:e115-e119. URL: http://www. pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/111/2/e115; childhood, drowning, swimming pools.ABBREVIATION. IRR, incidence rate ratio.

Medicolegal Childhood Deaths in Adana, Turkey

“…An important portion of drowning cases occur in the family pool. It has been indicated that allowing the child near or inside the water, unattended, and failing to secure the sides of the pool with barriers are the leading risks threatening a child's life (Stevenson et al 2003). Drowning accounts for a great share in our series also.…”

Pediatric Submersion Events in Portable Above-Ground Pools in the United States, 2001–2009

“…13 Only 45% of properties met compliance at first inspection, followed by 57% at second inspection, and 71% by third inspection (over an 8-year period). When compliance was not met, it took the owner an average of 1 month to comply.…”

“…Although previous studies have addressed submersion events involving young children and aboveground pools, none has addressed the use of pool ladders by children to enter the pool. 2,5,6,[11][12][13]15,23,28,29 The CPSC recommends that steps and ladders leading from the ground to the pool be secured to block access and locked, or removed when the pool is not in use. 24,25,30,31 Yet, ladders supplied with inexpensive, portable, above-ground pools Ն36 in deep 20 generally cannot be locked to block access and are cumbersome to remove from the pool.…”

“…1 Children younger than 5 years, 2-11 especially boys, 2,[4][5][6]9,12,13 are at greatest risk for drowning in swimming pools. An estimated 3000 children in this age group were treated annually in US hospital emergency departments for injuries associated with pool submersion from 2006 through 2008.…”

“…An estimated 3000 children in this age group were treated annually in US hospital emergency departments for injuries associated with pool submersion from 2006 through 2008. 14 Private pools have been found to be the most frequent site of submersion injury for US children, 2,5,6,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and 54% of fatalities associated with pools reported to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for children younger than 5 years during the period 2005 through 2007 occurred at the child's home. 18 Despite these statistics, many pool owners do not perceive their pool as a hazard for young children.…”