An analysis of the causes of freshwater immersion accidents involving children

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Abstract

An analysis is presented of the aetiological factors responsible for 111 consecutive childhood freshwater immersion accidents. The study comprises data from 56 survivors and 55 fatal cases in the Brisbane Drowning Study, being a total population five year analysis. A total of 16 separate aetiological factors have been identified. Quantitative scores for the relative importance of each of these have been calculated. Lack of parental supervision (78%), absent or inadequate safety barriers surrounding water hazards (63%) and an identifiable parental “vulnerable period” (44%) were the three most common factors. Most drowning accidents were due to multiple coincident causes; in only 16 cases (14%) could the accident be attributed to a single cause. Swimming pool accidents had a median of four separate but coincident causal factors compared with a median of two for those occurring in bathtubs, rivers and creeks. Causes have been classified according to three groups—environmental factors, parental factors, and factors relating to the child himself; quantitative scores for each of these causal groups, by immersion site, are presented. The significance of this work in the context of preventive strategems is discussed.

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