Drowning and Prevention

Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate the drowning prevention awareness, knowledge and preventive measures of caregivers. Background. Among the 67 Florida Counties, Broward, has the highest prevalence of mortality due to drowning and the highest morbidity due to near death drowning for children under the age of 4 years. Methods. Caregivers 18 years of age or older, whose child received services during a pediatric emergency department visit to a Broward County children's hospital were asked to complete the 7-question survey. A total of 276 surveys were collected and of those 87 were residential pool owners. Results. The majority of the survey participants were parents (91 %) and of those 78% were aware of what age group is most likely to drown. When asked about supervision, almost half (48%) answered "staying in visual contact at all times" and 42% answered "staying within arm's reach of the child". More than half (56%) of the participants had not received information from a healthcare provider on precautions to prevent a child from drowning. Of those with residential pools the majority utilize pool safety measures. Conclusions. While the majority of survey participants are aware of the ages most likely at risk for drowning, there is inconsistency as to the appropriate way by which to supervise a child. Effective public health drowning prevention campaigns must convey uniform, clear, uncluttered messages with easy action steps. A unified message for child supervision. More than half of the participants were provided with education to prevent childhood drowning by a healthcare provider, which may serve as a cue to action in the prevention of drowning. Finally, drowning prevention measures are being practiced by those parents and homeowners with residential pools. Grants. Funded by Institute for Maternal Child, HPD, NSU.