Calculating the economic burden of fatal drowning in Australia.

BACKGROUND: Aquatic activities provide physical and social benefits, while the risk of drowning generates countervailing social costs. Drawing on estimates of fatal drowning gathered by Royal Life Saving Society - Australia, this paper outlines a method for estimating the economic burden attributable to fatal drowning. METHODS: This study estimated the burden of fatal drowning by combining Value of a Statistical Life Year (VSLY), hospitalization, productivity and emergency services costs. All unintentional fatal drowning cases in Australia between 1-July-2002 and 30-June-2017 were included. Foregone life years from each drowning were estimated based on Australian life expectancies for the year of death. The societal value of these Years of Life Lost was calculated using the VSLY for Australia, adjusted to reflect income elasticity. Corrections to discounting of VSLY were applied. Estimates of productivity losses not captured in VSLY were produced using net national capital growth. Time spent in hospital was found using coronial data and existing estimates of search, ambulance and coronial costs were adapted and incorporated. RESULTS: The study covers 4285 cases of unintentional fatal drowning over 15 years. Based on this sample and estimates for the VSLY ($203,000), the economic burden of fatal drowning for Australia over this 14 year period was $18.63 billion in 2017 Australian dollars, averaging $1.24 billion annually. CONCLUSIONS: Fatal drowning represents a significant source of health burden in Australia, underlining the need for further preventative measures. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: We provide an easily-understood estimate of the scale of Australia's fatal drowning problem, permitting comparison with other social problems. They can also be used in determining net benefits of proposed drowning prevention policies and to identify situations where burden of fatal drowning is disproportionate. Suggestions for improving the calculation of societal burden of illness can be incorporated in cost-benefit analyses in related fields of study.

The epidemiology of injury in scuba diving.

The epidemiology of injury associated with recreational scuba diving is reviewed. A search of electronic databases and reference lists identified pertinent research. Barotrauma, decompression sickness and drowning-related injuries were the most common morbidities associated with recreational scuba diving. The prevalence of incidents ranged from 7 to 35 injuries per 10,000 divers and from 5 to 152 injuries per 100,000 dives. Recreational scuba diving fatalities account for 0.013% of all-cause mortality aged ≥ 15 years. Drowning was the most common cause of death. Among treated injuries, recovery was complete in the majority of cases. Dive injuries were associated with diver-specific factors such as insufficient training and preexisting medical conditions. Environmental factors included air temperature and flying after diving. Dive-specific factors included loss of buoyancy control, rapid ascent and repetitive deep diving. The most common event to precede drowning was running out of gas (compressed air). Though diving injuries are relatively rare prospective, longitudinal studies are needed to quantify the effects of known risk factors and, indeed, asymptomatic injuries (e.g. brain lesions). Dive injury health economics data also remains wanting. Meanwhile, health promotion initiatives should continue to reinforce adherence to established safe diving practices such as observing depth/time limits, safety stops and conservative ascent rates. However, there is an obvious lack of evaluated diving safety interventions.

Childhood drowning in low- and middle-income countries: Urgent need for intervention trials.

Data available for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) indicate that the burden of drowning in children is significant and becoming a leading public health problem. At the same time, interventions for drowning are not well documented in LMICs. The overall purpose of this paper is to make the case for research investments in conducting intervention trials to prevent child drowning in LMICs. In high-income countries (HICs), existing drowning prevention interventions include among others: pool fencing, supervision, lifeguards and water safety training at a young age. However, these measures may not be the most relevant in curtailing the number of drowning deaths in LMICs. There are differences with regard to geographical, social, cultural and behavioural factors associated with drowning between HICs and LMICs, often making it inappropriate to apply existing interventions directly in LMIC settings. This paper focuses on drowning from LMICs and reveals a dearth of data on incidence rates and risk factors; absence of public health interventions; lack of research on intervention effectiveness and cost-effectiveness; and paucity of national drowning prevention programs. Based on this evidence, this paper calls for immediate attention to drowning prevention by increasing research investments. This paper specifically discusses Bangladesh as a case study and proposes a drowning intervention study focusing on children less than 5 years in LMICs as an example of appropriate research investment.

Unintentional pediatric submersion-injury-related hospitalizations in the United States, 2003.

The objective of this study was to examine the demographic characteristics and hospital resource utilization of submersion-injury-related hospitalizations among persons < or =20 years of age in the USA in 2003. All 1475 pediatric submersion-injury-related hospital discharges in the Kids' Inpatient Database were identified by ICD-9-CM diagnosis code or external cause of injury code. These cases represent an estimated 2490 pediatric submersion-injury-related hospitalizations nationwide. Inpatient costs for these estimated hospitalizations were approximately $10 million. The overall pediatric submersion-injury-related rate of hospitalization was 3.0 per 100,000 persons. Children aged 0-4 years had the highest rate of hospitalization (7.7 per 100,000 persons). Children with permanent submersion-injury-related morbidity accounted for 5.8% of hospital admissions and 37.3% of hospital costs in our study, and children with submersion-injury-related in-hospital death accounted for 11.6% of hospital admissions and 20.0% of hospital costs in our study. Prevention of submersion injury using focused, proven strategies deserves increased attention.

Swimming pool drownings and near-drownings among California preschoolers.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a significant but poorly understood public health problem, the authors compiled data on swimming pool drownings and near-drownings requiring hospitalization for California children ages 1 to 4. METHODS: Data from death certificates were used to analyze swimming pool drownings, and hospital discharge data were used to analyze near-drownings. RESULTS: Among California preschoolers in 1993, pool immersion incidents were the leading cause of injury death and the eighth leading cause of injuries leading to hospitalization. Rates per 100,000 population were 3.2 for fatalities and 11.2 for nonfatal incidents, with a fatality-to-case ratio of 1:3.5. Total charges for initial hospital stays (excluding physicians' fees) were $5.2 million for 1227 hospital days. CONCLUSIONS: Swimming pools remain a serious hazard for young children. Primary prevention continues to be an important public health goal. Public health officials should support the adoption of laws designed to protect children from drowning and near-drownings.