Lessons learned through the 20-year development of a national fatal drowning database in Australia

BMC Public Health

Research

Justin-Paul Scarr¹  Richard C Franklin²  Stacey Willcox-Pidgeon²  Amy E Peden³ 

[1]Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, 2007, Broadway, NSW, Australia

[2]Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, 2007, Broadway, NSW, Australia

[3]College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, 4811, Townsville, QLD, Australia

[4]Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, 2007, Broadway, NSW, Australia

[5]School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, 2052, Kensington, NSW, Australia

[6]College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, 4811, Townsville, QLD, Australia

关键词: Epidemiology;    Risk factor analysis;    Death registry;    Drowning;    Water safety;    Health policy;    Leadership;    Children;    Alcohol;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-023-16392-2

 received in 2023-04-19, accepted in 2023-07-26,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCo-ordinated, evidence-based policy and programmatic efforts are needed to respond to complex drowning prevention problems. Comprehensive, current, and robust data are vital for agenda setting, burden and risk factor identification, intervention design and evaluation, as well as setting policy. We aim to record methods used in, and identify impacts of, the development of a national fatal drowning database (NFDD) in Australia, including lessons learned across research, policy, and practice.MethodsWe employ a case study method using process mapping and document review to explore the evolution, drivers and impacts of the NFDD. We analyse methodological approaches including those relating to data definitions, drowning case collection, and management, as well as tracking the various outputs of the NFDD. We describe a development timeline that presents impact of drowning prevention policy, and research agendas on database development, and research investments more specifically.ResultsOur study identified that the collected variables grew 20-fold from 2002 to 2022, reaching 259 variables, and 5,692 unique cases of fatal drowning. The NFDD employs data triangulation methodology, combining keyword and targeted searches of coronial files, media report monitoring, and organisational data provision. Database development is influenced by the Australia Water Safety Strategy, policymaker and practitioner-initiated research agendas, and identification of knowledge gaps. We identified numerous outputs spanning publications, media, intervention development, and legislative submissions.ConclusionA comprehensive and robust NFDD informed by policymaker and practitioner input can enhance surveillance, policy, and intervention development for drowning prevention. Employing mixed data collection and validation methods can supplement weaknesses in official data sources. There is a need for the NFDD to continue to evolve in its application while maintaining rigorous case identification and data quality assurance processes. Despite significant investment, the outputs and influence on drowning prevention practice in Australia has been extremely valuable and contributed to sizeable reductions in Australia’s fatal drowning rate.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

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