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International Life Saving Federation World Drowning Report 2007. Barbara Byers Drowning Report Committee Member IBWSS April 17, 2007. 2007 ILS World Drowning Report. Developing world – daily living activities. Developed world- recreational environment.
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International Life Saving Federation World Drowning Report 2007 Barbara Byers Drowning Report Committee Member IBWSS April 17, 2007
2007 ILS World Drowning Report • Developing world – daily living activities. • Developed world- recreational environment. • This is the inaugural ILS Drowning Report. • It reviews the data and information that is in existence. • Things seem not to count unless they can be counted.
North American Context • Second leading cause of preventable death for children. • Data is collected and used to develop behavioural change prevention campaigns. • And to measure the impact of our campaigns. • Drownings have declined ….particularly with children..
Developed Countries • Data collection in Canada, Australia, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand. • With corresponding low drowning rates. • Correlation between collecting, analyzing, developing and results.
Developing countries • Not common in most developing countries in – Africa and Asia. • No methodology or systems to count or measure • No idea as to the scope of the problem. • Minimal prevention programs.
2007 World Drowning Report • Provides insight from the best available information sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO). • Plus summary data from ILS member countries.
International Life Saving Federation (ILS) • Global non-profit federation of over 100 national lifesaving organizations world-wide. • In the USA, represented by the United States Lifesaving Association. • In Canada, by the Lifesaving Society. • Established a Drowning Report committee. • www.ilsf.org
Population Predictions • Drowning is a serious threat to world health. • United Nations predicts the magnitude of the drowning problem is going to get worse. • By 2050 Africa and Asia will be home to more than 80% of the population. • China and India will shelter 1/3 of the world population.
World Health Organization (WHO) • World Health Organization (WHO) – most comprehensive international level data collection. • WHO 2002 Fact sheet on drowning estimated that 382,312 people drowned. • Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury.
World Health Organization (WHO) • World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledges that problem is even greater • Data does not include cataclysms (floods), transport accidents, assaults and suicide were excluded. • 97% of unintentional deaths occurred in low and middle-income countries.
Drowning is a Global Problem • We need to get a handle on the scope of the problem to develop prevention programs. • The quality of prevention action seems impossible to determine unless it can be measured and evaluated. • ILS will take a leadership role
Immigration Trends • From developing to developed countries. • In their countries learning to swim and water safety is not part of their culture. • They bring this experience with them.
Drowning Risk and Prevention in Minority Communities • Presentation by Dr. Linda Quan and Tizzie Bennett from the Seattle Children’s Hospital. • Children’s drowning data by ethnicity was collected and analyzed. • Identified the Vietnamese community as the highest risk group and developed intervention programs.
Bangladesh • 150 million people. • One of the most densely populated countries. • Land is smaller than Iowa. • Southern Asia – bordered by India, Burma and the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh • Delta formed from three rivers. • 1/3 of the country is flooded. • Water exposure is a daily fact of life. • In the past, the scope of the non-disease death rate was unknown.
Bangladesh Research Initiative • Shift from cause of death attributable to disease to injury cause. • Of all type of injuries, drowning was the most difficult to classify. • Limited reporting of death. • Multi-agency collaborative study.
Research • Cluster sampling approach. • Learned that drowning is the single largest cause of death for children. • 17,000 children under 17 drown every year! • While walking to school, playing outside. • Flooding problem!
Some Facts • About 70% occurred in ditches and ponds. • 85% of infants and children drowned in water within 20 feet of the house. • Daylight hours. • Most often the mother or supervisor was distracted.
Intervention strategies • For children under 5 years, focus was improved supervision by the mother combined with barriers. • Establlshed community crèches. • Taught basic survival swimming skills to children > 5 years.
Dramatic Results! • Tested in regions and compared versus a control group. • In the cell with the crèche program there were no drownings. • Among 6,000 children who graduated from the swimming program, no child drowned.
Lessons Learned • With data you can learn about the scope of the problem. • We can share our experiences with other countries. • We can learn about the impact of our programs from them.
Thank you! Barbara Byers barbarab@lifeguarding.com World Drowning Report www.ilsf.org