The epidemiology of drowning in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Casper Reske-Nielsen¹  Matthew D. Tyler¹  Gabrielle A. Jacquet²  Robert Carey³  David B. Richards⁴  Erica A. Morse⁴  Omeed Saghafi⁴ 

[1] Boston Medical Center, Boston, USA;Boston Medical Center, Boston, USA;Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA;Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, USA;Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, USA;

关键词: Drowning;    Injury;    Epidemiology;    Low and middle-income countries;    Systematic review;    Drowning prevention;    Public health;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-017-4239-2

 received in 2016-08-11, accepted in 2017-04-06,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAccording to the World Health Organization, drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths worldwide, accounting for 370,000 annual deaths and 7% of all injury-related deaths. Low- and middle-income countries are the most affected, accounting for 91% of unintentional drowning deaths.MethodsThe authors performed a systematic review of literature indexed in EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Traumatology journals formerly indexed in PubMed in January 2014 and again in September 2016. Abstracts were limited to human studies in English, conducted in low- and middle-income countries, and containing quantitative data on drowning epidemiology.ResultsA total of 62 articles met inclusion criteria. The majority of articles originate from Asia (56%) and Africa (26%). Risk factors for drowning included young age (<17–20 years old), male gender (75% vs. 25% female), rural environment (84% vs. 16% urban), occurring in the daytime (95% vs. 5% night time), lack of adult supervision (76% vs. 18% supervised), and limited swimming ability (86% vs. 10% with swimming ability). There was almost equal risk of drowning in a small body of water versus a large body of water (42% ponds, ditches, streams, wells; 46% lakes, rivers, sea, ocean).ConclusionDrowning is a significant cause of injury-related deaths, especially in LMICs. Young males who are unsupervised in rural areas and have limited formal swimming instruction are at greatest risk of drowning in small bodies of water around their homes. Preventative strategies include covering wells and cisterns, fencing off ditches and small ponds, establishing community daycares, providing formal swimming lessons, and increasing awareness of the risks of drowning.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017