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Miami-Dade County Health Department Drowning Prevention Campaign

Miami-Dade County Health Department Drowning Prevention Campaign. Maria Bustamante, MPH Injury Epidemiologist Office of Epidemiology and Disease Control Miami-Dade County Health Department. Overview. Swimming pool related drowning study Review of swimming pool legislation

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Miami-Dade County Health Department Drowning Prevention Campaign

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  1. Miami-Dade County Health DepartmentDrowning Prevention Campaign Maria Bustamante, MPH Injury Epidemiologist Office of Epidemiology and Disease Control Miami-Dade County Health Department

  2. Overview • Swimming pool related drowning study • Review of swimming pool legislation • 2006 drowning prevention campaign • 2007 drowning prevention campaign

  3. Swimming Pool Related Drowning: Background • Pools • 76,900 residential pools • 3,300 public and commercial pools • Unknown number of above ground pools • Currently pools built after 2000 are required to have a barrier • During 2000-2005 a total 332 residents nearly drowned and 299 residents drowned in Miami-Dade County • 44% of near-drownings and 15% of drownings were among infants and children 0-4 years of age

  4. Swimming Pool Related Drowning: Methods • Medical examiner record reviews were conducted • Drowning incidents occurring between 2000-2005 among children 0-4 years of age in Miami-Dade County • Reviewed medical examiner records for a total of 40 infants and children 0-4 years old • 29 were swimming pool related drowning

  5. Swimming Pool Related Drowning: Results • Demographics • 38% were infants 1 year of age • 2/3 were male • 1/3 were Black • Seasonality • May had the highest number of drowning events followed by August • Location • Most children drown in their own family residential pool • Barriers • 8 pools had some kind of fence or gate around pool • Of these 2 were unlocked and 2 others were unkempt with holes or gaps • Supervision • 35% children were left under the care of other children • Time elapsed before being found in pool • 2/5 children were missing for <15 minutes • 1/5 children were missing for > 2 hours

  6. Swimming Pool Related Drowning:Discussion • Two resounding issues: • Swimming pool barriers • Barriers not present or in disrepair • Direct adult supervision • Large number of children left under responsibility of other children • Caregivers did not keep child within their sight • Some were distracted (at a party, on the phone, washing dishes, in the bathroom, or on the computer) • Some assumed child was being watched by other family member

  7. Legislation: Florida • Florida Statutes • 515.27 (1) in order to pass final inspection residential swimming pool must one of the following • (a) pool must be isolated from access to home by and enclosure that meets the pool barrier requirements (515.29) • (b) pool must be equipped with an approved safety pool cover • (c) all doors and windows providing direct access from the home to the pool must be equipped with an exit alarm that has a minimum sound pressure rating of 85 dB A at 10 feet • (d) all doors providing direct access from the home to pool must be equipped with a self-closing, self-latching device with a release mechanism placed no lower than 54 inches above the floor • 515.27 (2) • A person who fails to follow subsection (1) commits a misdemeanor of the second degree

  8. Legislation: Florida • Florida Statutes • 515.29 (1) a residential swimming pool barrier must be • A least four feet high on the outside • May not have any gaps, openings, indentations, protrusions, or structural components that could allow a young child to crawl under, squeeze through, or climb over it • Placed around the perimeter of pool and must be separate from any fence, wall, or other enclosure surrounding yard, unless fence, wall, or other enclosure or portion thereof is situated on the perimeter of the pool is being used as part of barrier • Must be placed sufficiently away from the water’s edge to prevent a young child or medically frail elderly person who may have managed to penetrate barrier from immediately falling into water

  9. Legislation: Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County Ordinance • 33-12 (b) • The pool barrier shall take the form of a screened-in patio, a wooden fence, a wire fence, a rock wall, a concrete block wall, or other materials, so as to enable the owner to blend the same with the style of architecture planned or in existence • 33-12 (c) • The height of the pool barrier must be at least four feet tall

  10. 2006 Drowning Prevention Campaign: Activities • Distributed water watcher tags, checklists, 20 bingo cards and brochures • Community Health Fairs • Norte-Dame Church Health Fair May 2006 • West Perrine Health Fair • Partnerships • Women Infants and Children • Distribution to clinics throughout county • Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Miami • Distribution to parents visiting safety bus • Miami-Dade County Injury Prevention Coalition • Distribution to parents in hospital • Barry University School of Nursing • Student project with parents • Publications • Drowning and near-drowning to children 0-18 years of age, Miami-Dade County 2000-2004 May 2006 edition of Epi Monthly Report

  11. 2007 Drowning Prevention Campaign: Overview • Goal • To reduce drowning deaths to children 0-4 years of age in a Miami-Dade County target community • Objective • Launch a drowning prevention campaign in selected community this summer

  12. 2007 Drowning Prevention Campaign: Target Community • Zip code: 33157 • Communities: Perrine, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, and South Miami Heights • Highest number of drowning and near-drowning events occurring to 0-4 year olds • Highest number of residential swimming pools (6,352) • 2nd largest population of 0-4 year olds (4,913)

  13. 2007 Drowning Prevention Campaign: Activities • Nova Southeastern University is currently conducting a public awareness study in target community • Mail survey to residential pool owners • Florida International University School of Public Health will conduct drowning prevention campaign in target community this summer

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