Toddler Drownings Research Articles

Drowning in Pretoria, South Africa: A 10-year review

Drowning is classified as the 3rd leading cause of accidental deaths worldwide and is deemed to be a preventable cause of death. Bodies retrieved from a water medium pose several challenges to the forensic pathologist with the diagnosis of drowning being primarily one of exclusion. The aim of this study was to do a retrospective descriptive case audit of bodies retrieved from water and immersion related deaths, which were investigated at the Pretoria Medico-Legal Laboratory (PMLL) over a 10 year period (January 2002 through December 2011). A total of 346 cases were identified for inclusion into this study. In 6% (20) of these cases, the death was not related to drowning; in 14% (48) no clear cause of death could be ascertained and in 278 cases (80%) the cause of death was considered to have been due to drowning. Infants (under 1 year, of age) constituted 41 (15%) of the cases; toddlers (aged 1–2 years) comprised 52 (19%) cases; children (aged 2–13 years) 49 (18%) cases; adolescents (aged 13–18 years) comprised 10 (3%) cases; adults (above 18, years) made up 126 (45%) of the cases. The majority of the drownings, occurred in swimming pools [125 cases (38%)]. In infants 23 (56%) of, drownings occurred in swimming pools followed by buckets [7 cases (17%)]. Sixty-nine per cent of toddler drownings (36 cases) occurred in swimming, pools. In the adult population, 40 (32%) of cases occurred in pools and 35 cases (28%) in rivers. Positive blood alcohol results were recorded in 48, (42%) out of 113 cases where the test was requested, 40 (35%) of these, cases higher than 0.05 g per 100 ml. This study suggests that many drowning deaths in Pretoria may be preventable by introducing greater public awareness of the risks and instituting relatively simple, protective measures.

Preventing adolescent drowning: Understanding water safety knowledge, attitudes and swimming ability. The effect of a short water safety intervention

Worldwide, epidemiological data indicate that children are a high-risk group for drowning and while progress has been made in understanding toddler drownings, there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the drowning risk and protective factors inherent for adolescents and young adults. This study used a self-report questionnaire to establish swimming and water safety knowledge and attitudes of young adults and objectively measured their actual swimming ability using formal practical testing procedures. Participants then completed a short, 12-week intervention that encompassed swimming, survival and rescue skills, along with water safety knowledge applicable to a range of aquatic environments. Knowledge, attitudes and swimming ability were then re-measured following the intervention to evaluate its effectiveness. The Wilcoxon matched pairs signed ranks test was performed to detect whether there were significant differences between knowledge, attitude and swim ability scores pre-intervention and post-intervention. A total of 135 participants completed the baseline and follow up questionnaire and all practical testing. Results indicated that these young adults had a very low level of water safety knowledge pre-intervention, although the majority had sound swimming and water safety skills and attitudes. Overall, significant improvements were evident in knowledge (p<0.001) and swim ability (p<0.001) post-intervention, although no changes were observed in attitudes (p=0.079). Previous participation in formal swimming lessons and/or swimming within the school curriculum had no significant impact on water safety knowledge, skills or attitudes of these young adults, and there were few significant gender differences. While it is important to conduct further studies to confirm that these findings are consistent with a more representative sample of young adults, our findings are the first to provide empirical evidence of the value of a comprehensive aquatic education program as a drowning prevention strategy for young adults.

Toddler Drowning Prevention: Teaching Parents About Child CPR in Conjunction With Their Child’s In-Water Lessons

The purpose of the study was to develop a program that addressed parental misconceptions of child CPR. Parents (n = 109) of toddlers enrolled in swim school lessons were randomly assigned to control, pool-based instruction, and home-based groups. Initially, one third (30%) of parents were confident of their ability to perform child CPR and only one fifth (22%) correctly reported the recommended compression-to-rescue breath ratio of 30:2 for child CPR. Postintervention, confidence and knowledge of CPR protocols improved significantly for both instruction groups compared with the control group. Correct compression-to-breath ratios significantly improved for the pool-based group (86%) and home-based group (87%) compared with the control group (33%). Child CPR instruction at swim schools provided a valuable opportunity to reduce parental anxiety about performing child CPR and improved knowledge of child CPR. Further research is required to determine how other toddler parents might similarly benefit from such a program.

Valid measurement of isolation pool fencing: a methodologic challenge

Valid Measurement of Isolation Pool Fencing: a methodological Challenge Drowning has been identified as the leading cause of death for children under 5 years of age in many areas with...

Toddler drowning prevention: Teaching parents about water safety in conjunction with their child's in-water lessons

The primary objective of the study was to develop a parent education programme that addressed parental misconceptions of toddler water safety previously identified by the authors. Parents (n = 106) of 2 – 4-year-old toddlers enrolled in swim school lessons completed a self-directed questionnaire before and after a 10-week poolside water safety programme. Differences in pre- and post-programme knowledge and beliefs were measured by frequency and chi-square tested to identify significant changes in parental comprehension of toddler water safety after the programme. Statistically significant improvements in parental understanding were evident after the programme. More parents were aware of the family or friend's swimming pool as the primary site of toddler drowning (59% vs. 78%). More parents agreed that their toddler required more, not less, adult supervision after swimming lessons (85% vs. 97%) and more disagreed that swimming lessons were the best way to prevent toddler drowning (65% vs. 74%). Parental understanding of child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), however, did not improve after the programme. This study suggests that toddler lessons in swim schools provide a valuable opportunity to address parental misconceptions about toddler water safety. Further research is required to determine how parents whose toddlers do not attend swimming lessons might similarly benefit from such a programme.

Parental perceptions of toddler water safety, swimming ability and swimming lessons

The primary objective of the study was to examine parental perceptions on the role of toddler swimming ability and pre-school swimming lessons in drowning prevention. A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on toddler water safety from parents (n = 882) whose 2 – 4-year-old toddlers were either attending early childhood centres (n = 327) or who were enrolled in swim schools (n = 555). Differences in attitudes between two groups of parents were measured by frequency, with Mann-Whitney U tests used to discern significant differences between groups. More swim school parents believed that: swimming was best taught at 2 years of age or less (42% vs. 29%); swimming lessons were the best way to prevent toddler drowning (57% vs. 47%); toddlers could learn to save themselves if they fell into water (43% vs. 33%); and that it was better to develop swimming ability rather than rely on adult supervision (35% vs. 30%). Many parents have an overly optimistic view of the role of swimming ability and pre-school swimming lessons in drowning prevention. This was especially so for parents with toddlers enrolled in lessons. Swim schools in particular need to counter parental misconceptions of the protective role of swimming and reiterate the importance of close adult supervision of toddlers around water.

Towards an Australian Institute of Trauma Research: learning the lessons of history.

Although medical research in Australia in the 20th century has resulted in a reduction of approximately 95% in the death rate from the infectious and parasitic diseases, there has been no such beneficial outcome in road traffic accidents which, it is here suggested, were out of control from 1948 until 1970. In 1970 several concerned community groups (spearheaded by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons) campaigned for the introduction of mandatory seat belt wearing. As a consequence of that initiative, and the virtual plethora of subsequent research activities, the road traffic accident rate has declined substantially in the last three decades. The death rate from drownings to toddlers (children under 5) was essentially unchanged until the 1970s when research into toddler pool deaths and the implementation of those research findings resulted in a downturn in toddler drownings in the last two decades. These two examples demonstrate the value of accident research and the implementation of research findings. By analogy with the contributions of the large medical research institutes, the creation of an Australian Institute of Trauma Research seems desirable and is here proposed.

Toddler drowning in domestic swimming pools

Aims—To identify how toddlers who drowned gained access to private swimming pools; to recommend preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of toddler drowning and near drowning. Method—The study reviewed critically...

Caregiver factors and pool fencing: an exploratory analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the relationship between caregiver characteristics and the adequacy of domestic swimming pool fencing. SETTING: A typical metropolitan area of a large Australian capital city, Brisbane. METHODS: From...

Accidental Drowning of Toddlers in Buckets

To the Editor. — Jumbelic and Chambliss1have described the significant health threat 5-gallon buckets are to infants and toddlers. In Dade County, Florida, since 1956, we have had five fatalities of toddlers drowning in 5-gallon pails and one toddler drowning in an ice chest since 1956. The manner of death in all six (mean age, 10.6 months) was determined to be accidental. It must be emphasized that these cases need to be thoroughly investigated through a cooperative effort by the medical examiner, law enforcement, and social services. Death of children below or above the toddler stage should be considered suspicious. Furthermore, careful attention must be paid to each individual's motor development, which may vary from toddler to toddler. In our communications with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, they have identified 234 similar drownings from 1972 to the present. Perhaps a conspicuous written warning similar to that found on