Fatal, unintentional drowning in older people: an assessment of the role of preexisting medical conditions

Queiroga

2017

Inj Prev

Purpose Drowning is a global public health issue and prevention poses an ongoing challenge for all countries. Many nations are experiencing ageing populations, and little is known about the epidemiology, risk factors and prevention of drowning deaths among older people. This paper reports on a systematic review of literature published on drowning among older people. Methods A systematic literature review was undertaken using English-language, Portuguese-language and Spanish-language papers published between 1980 and 2015. The review explores gaps in the literature with a focus on the epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for the prevention of unintentional fatal drowning among people 50 years and over. results Thirty-eight papers were deemed relevant to the study design, including 18 (47%) on epidemiology, 19 (50%) on risk factors and 9 (24%) on strategies for prevention. Risk factors identified included male gender, ethnicity, rurality and increasing age. Prevention strategies commonly proposed were education and wearing life jackets. Gaps identified in the published literature include a lack of consistency around age groupings used for epidemiological studies; a lack of consensus on risk factors; a lack of total population, country-level analysis; and the need for older age-specific prevention strategies that have been implemented and their effectiveness evaluated. conclusion This review identified drowning deaths among older people as a global issue. Further work is required to reduce drowning in this cohort. Highquality epidemiological studies identifying risk factors using standardised age groupings to allow for international comparisons are required, as are implementation and evaluation of older age-specific prevention strategies.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for the prevention of global unintentional fatal drowning in people aged 50 years and older: a systematic review

Peden¹,

Queiroga

2017

Inj Prev

“…Children with contributory pre‐existing medical conditions were, on average, older (5–17 years) and left unsupervised for longer than children without. Unlike drowning deaths among older people, where pre‐existing medical conditions such as cardiac conditions and dementia have been identified as risk factors for fatal drowning, epilepsy and autism were identified as conditions contributing to fatal bathtub drowning among children in Australia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unintentional fatal child drowning in the bath: A 12‐year Australian review (2002–2014)

Peden

J Paediatrics Child Health

Pearn

2017

“…Once a case is confirmed for inclusion, information is transcribed across a number of variables for each case into an SPSS dataset that houses the Database. The method for sourcing drowning data from the NCIS and the Database has been published in depth previously 2,33–35 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The method for sourcing drowning data from the NCIS and the Database has been published in depth previously. 2,[33][34][35] Cases within the coronial system remain open while they are under investigation by a coroner. A case is closed when a coroner makes a ruling on cause of death and/or takes the case to coronial inquest, where coronial recommendations may be made to prevent future similar deaths.…”

Section: Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Database (The Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Who rescues who? Understanding aquatic rescues in Australia using coronial data and a survey

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health

Peden

Brander

et al. 2019

Objective: To examine fatal drowning associated with aquatic rescues and prior self‐reported experience of undertaking an aquatic rescue in Australia. Methods: Previous aquatic rescue experience was sourced through the 2013 Queensland Computer Assisted Telephone Instrument Survey and compared to data on rescue‐related fatal unintentional drowning between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2015. Results: Twenty‐three per cent (n=294/1291) of survey respondents had previously performed an aquatic rescue. Males (X2=35.2; p<0.001) were more likely to have performed a rescue; commonly at a beach/ocean/harbour location (X2=13.5; p<0.001). Females were more likely to have rescued a child (0‐4 years of age) (X2=29.2; p<0.001) from a swimming pool (X2=34.3; p<0.001). Fifty‐one people drowned while performing an aquatic rescue (Males=82.4%; 25–44 years of age=53.0%; beaches=54.9%). Conclusions: Drownings are prevented by bystanders; this is not without risk to the rescuer. Most people perform only one rescue in their life, often at a younger age, on an altruistic basis, of family members or young children. Community‐wide rescue skills, taught at a young age, with consideration for coastal, inland and swimming pool environments, may prevent drowning. Implications for public health: There is a need to train people early in their life on how to undertake a safe rescue and provide resuscitation, including promoting regular updates, in particular if supervising children.