Development and Trial of a Water Exposure Measure of Estimated Drowning Risk for Surf Bathers

Morgan, Damian; Ozanne‐Smith, Joan

doi:10.25035/ijare.07.02.04

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Only six papers, four published pre-1990, identified risk factors based on higher incidence or prevalence rates. Various complications with presenting population-based drowning rates have been identified [ 61 ], and measuring exposure has and continues to be a major challenge [ 24 , 62 ]. Future studies seeking to identify coastal drowning risk factors should strive to present both case counts and incidence or prevalence rates as both are important for prioritized interventions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal drowning: A scoping review of burden, risk factors, and prevention strategies

et al. 2021

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Objective Coastal drowning is a global public health problem which requires evidence to support safety initiatives. The growing multidisciplinary body of coastal drowning research and associated prevention countermeasures is diverse and has not been characterised as a whole. The objective of this scoping review was to identify key concepts, findings, evidence and research gaps in the coastal drowning literature to guide future research and inform prevention activities. Methods We conducted a scoping review to identify peer reviewed studies published before May 2020 reporting either (i) fatal unintentional coastal drowning statistics from non-boating, -disaster or -occupational aetiologies; (ii) risk factors for unintentional fatal coastal drowning; or (iii) coastal drowning prevention strategies. Systematic searches were conducted in six databases, two authors independently screened studies for inclusion and one author extracted data using a standardised data charting form developed by the study team. Results Of the 146 included studies, the majority (76.7%) were from high income countries, 87 (59.6%) reported coastal drowning deaths, 61 (41.8%) reported risk factors, and 88 (60.3%) reported prevention strategies. Populations, data sources and coastal water site terminology in the studies varied widely; as did reported risk factors, which most frequently related to demographics such as gender and age. Prevention strategies were commonly based on survey data or expert opinion and primarily focused on education, lifeguards and signage. Few studies (n = 10) evaluated coastal drowning prevention strategies. Discussion Coastal drowning is an expansive, multidisciplinary field that demands cross-sector collaborative research. Gaps to be addressed in coastal safety research include the lack of research from lower resourced settings, unclear and inconsistent terminology and reporting, and the lack of evaluation for prevention strategies. Advancing coastal drowning science will result in a stronger evidence base from which to design and implement effective countermeasures that ultimately save lives and keep people safe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coastal drowning: A scoping review of burden, risk factors, and prevention strategies

et al. 2021

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“…River usage peaked in the early evening hours with an average of 81 people observed at 19:30. Worldwide, very few studies examining exposure to drowning risk have been conducted [9]. In Australia, much of the published data involve observations conducted at beaches [2,12,13], with one study examining self-reported river visitation (and impact on drowning risk) through the use of a CATI survey [3]. Both the beach observations [2,12,13] and survey of river visitation [3], found more males than females visiting the locations, with 70% of beach observations being male [2] and 75% of males visiting a river at least once in the 12 months prior to the survey, compared to 72% of females [3].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To date, although surveys have been used to quantify drowning risk by exposure [1,3,7,8], with a number of studies in Australia [9][10][11], the only observational studies conducted have been at beaches [2,12,13]. This is despite rivers being the leading location for drowning in Australia [11] and a significant contributor to the global estimate of 360,000 fatal drownings each year [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Observing Patterns of River Usage

Peden

Franklin

Leggat

et al. 2019

Safety

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Rivers are a leading location for drowning, yet little is known about people’s usage of these waterways. This pilot study aimed to test the use of direct observations to calculate river usage. Direct observations were conducted at regular intervals within defined zones at four river drowning locations in Australia (including weekends and the Australia Day national public holiday). Data recorded were date and time of observation; total people (including males, females, children, and adults); and number of people on, in, and beside the water. Univariate analysis with mean (SD) and range was conducted. Interrater reliability for observations was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) (one-way random-effects, average measures model), with a 95% confidence interval (CI). Across 149 time points, 309 observations resulted in 13,326 river interactions observed by multiple observers. There was an average of 39 people (M = 39.4, SD = 29.4, range = 0–137) per observation, 44 people (M = 44.2, SD = 32.7, range = 0–37) on an average weekend, and 97 people (M = 96.8, SD = 58.1, range = 20–190) on Australia Day. More females (M = 20.6, SD = 16.0, range = 0–83) than males (M = 18.3, SD = 14.5, range = 0–68) were observed. More people were observed in the water (M = 20.6, SD = 20.4, range = 0–84) than beside or on the water. Interrater reliability was excellent, consistently above 0.900 for all variables collected (apart from the variable of beside the river). Despite males accounting for 80% of river drowning fatalities, more females were observed than males. Increased visitation on the Australia Day public holiday may be linked to increased drowning risk. This study detailed a simple approach to data collection, exploring exposure within a defined zone at river locations. River usage is dynamic, with people’s movement in and out of the water changing their risk exposure. Observational-based data collection for drowning, particularly for rivers, is an important yet highly neglected area of research.

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“…As more water-related activities take place in summer than in winter, researchers have tried to extrapolate crude time-duration exposure to water for a specified at-risk sample of surf bathers to estimate the bather population for all wave-dominated beaches in Victoria, Australia, over a 4-year period of summer seasons. They suggested that the application of the method in open water settings may be used to identify candidate drowning risk factors to advance drowning prevention strategies 12 13…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ranking regional drowning mortality rates: population-based versus aquatic area-based rate

et al. 2016

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Population, the most often used denominator in calculating drowning mortality rate, might not be a good measure of risk exposure. In this study, we sought to compare the rankings of township drowning mortality according to population-based rates with those according to aquatic area-based rates in Taitung County, Taiwan. The township with the highest mortality rate using population as the denominator (deaths per 100 000 persons) was Changbin (32.3) followed by Lanyu (22.4), Donghe (19.6) and Chenggong (18.0). On the other hand, the township with the leading mortality rate using aquatic area as the denominator (deaths per 100 000 km) was Lanyu (353) followed by Lyudao (307), Chenggong (282) and Taitung City (219). Taitung City ranked 10th according to the population-based rate, but ranked 4th according to the aquatic area-based rate. In conclusion, rankings of regional drowning mortality rates using aquatic area as the denominator differ from those using population as the denominator.

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Development and Trial of a Water Exposure Measure of Estimated Drowning Risk for Surf Bathers

Cited by 8 publications

References 20 publications

Coastal drowning: A scoping review of burden, risk factors, and prevention strategies

Coastal drowning: A scoping review of burden, risk factors, and prevention strategies

Observing Patterns of River Usage

Ranking regional drowning mortality rates: population-based versus aquatic area-based rate

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