title: Epidemiology of fatal and non-fatal drowning patients attended by paramedics in Victoria, Australia.
abstract: Drowning is a major cause of injury and death worldwide. This study aims to expand the evidence in fatal and non-fatal drowning. A retrospective study was conducted to investigate fatal and non-fatal drowning incidents attended by ambulance paramedics in Victoria (Australia) from 2007 to 2012. A total of 509 drowning incidents were identified, 339 (66.6%) were non-fatal, with 170 (33.4%) resulting in death. Children aged 0-4 years had the highest crude drowning rate (7.95 per 100,000 persons). Non-fatal incidents were more likely to be witnessed by a bystander when compared with fatal incidents (43.7% vs. 20.0%, p < 0.001). Spatial analysis indicated that 35 (43.8%) local government areas (LGAs) were considered at 'excess risk' of a drowning event occurring. This study is the first to apply spatial analysis to determine relative risk ratios for fatal and non-fatal drowning. These findings will enable geographically targeted and age-specific drowning prevention activities.
authors.affiliation: a Aquatic Risk and Research Department , Life Saving Victoria , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Bernadette L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: b Research and Evaluation Department , Ambulance Victoria , Melbourne , Australia.|c Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine , Monash University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andrew
authors.affiliation: a Aquatic Risk and Research Department , Life Saving Victoria , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Andronaco
authors.affiliation: b Research and Evaluation Department , Ambulance Victoria , Melbourne , Australia.|c Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine , Monash University , Melbourne , Australia.
authors.forename: Shelley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: b Research and Evaluation Department , Ambulance Victoria , Melbourne , Australia.|c Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine , Monash University , Melbourne , Australia.|d Emergency Medicine Department , University of Western Australia , Perth , Australia.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004332:Drowning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015701:Near Drowning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D062206:Spatial Analysis; D013551:Swimming Pools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014739:Victoria / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Drowning prevention; health policy; management; unintentional injury