[Epidemiology of accidents related to sea-swimming in the Tuscany Region using a health-promotion strategy. Preliminary report]. / Epidemiologia degli incidenti correlati all'attività balneare nella Regione Toscana per una strategia di promozione della salute--nota preliminare.

In the summer season 1999 an integrated epidemiological surveillance system (involving mobile emergency medical services, first aid and tourist stations, hyperbaric medical centres, bathing attendants) of sea-bathing-related accidents was set up on the coasts of Tuscany, central Italy, aimed at health promotion and education. The pilot phase allowed to collect a first set of information on periods and time with highest incidence of events, type of assistance delivered, kind of accident (trauma or illness) and seriousness of the event as codified by emergency medical services. The pilot experience also pointed out the changes to detection tools needed in order to obtain more precise and comparable data. Such corrections, introduced during the summer season 2000, could contribute to the creation of a model with potential applications in other Italian and European coastal regions.