A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Cohort Study Examining the Risk of Unintentional Fatal Drowning during Public Holidays in Australia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- World Health Organization. Global Report on Drowning: Preventing a Leading Killer; World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland, 2014. [Google Scholar]
- Royal Life Saving Society—Australia. Royal Life Saving National Downing Report 2017; Royal Life Saving Society: Sydney, Australia, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Franklin, R.C.; Scarr, J.P.; Pearn, J.H. Reducing drowning deaths: The continued challenge of immersion fatalities in Australia. Med. J. Aust. 2010, 192, 123–126. [Google Scholar] [PubMed]
- Wallis, B.A.; Watt, K.; Franklin, R.C.; Kimble, R.M. Drowning in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and adolescents in Queensland (Australia). BMC Public Health 2015, 15, 795. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Driscoll, T.R.; Harrison, J.A.; Steenkamp, M. Review of the role of alcohol in drowning associated with recreational aquatic activity. Inj. Prev. 2004, 10, 107–113. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- Peden, A.E.; Franklin, R.C.; Leggat, P.A. Alcohol and its contributory role in fatal drowning in Australian rivers, 2002–2012. Accid. Anal. Prev. 2017, 98, 259–265. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Peden, A.E.; Franklin, R.C.; Leggat, P.A. Exploring visitation at rivers to understand drowning risk. Inj. Prev. 2018. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Peden, A.E.; Barnsley, P.D.; Queiroga, A.C. The association between school attendance and unintentional fatal drowning among children and adolescents aged 5–17 years. J. Paediatr. Child Health 2018. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Peden, A.E.; Franklin, R.C.; Leggat, P.A. International travelers and unintentional fatal drowning in Australia—A 10 year review 2002–2012. J. Travel Med. 2016, 23, 1–7. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Lloyd, B.; Matthews, S.; Livingston, M.; Jayasekara, H.; Smith, K. Alcohol intoxication in the context of major public holidays, sporting and social events: A time–series analysis in Melbourne, Australia, 2000–2009. Addiction 2013, 108, 701–709. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Mahony, A.; Scarr, J.; Peden, A.E. NSW Summer Drowning Report: An Investigation into Drowning Deaths in NSW between 1 December 2016 and 28 February 2017; Royal Life Saving Society: Sydney, Australia, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Peden, A.E.; Franklin, R.C.; Mahony, A.M.; Barnsley, P.D.; Scarr, J. Using a retrospective cross-sectional study to analyse unintentional fatal drowning in Australia: ICD-10 coding-based methodologies verses actual deaths. BMJ Open 2017, 7, e019407. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. National Coronial Information System (NCIS). Available online: www.ncis.org.au (accessed on 18 April 2018).
- Australia.gov.au. Public Holidays. Available online: www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/public-holidays (accessed on 11 November 2017).
- Calender-Australia.com. Holidays Australia. Available online: www.calendar-australia.com/holidays/ (accessed on 12 November 2017).
- Australian Public Holidays Dates Machine Readable Dataset. Available online: https://data.gov.au/dataset/australian-holidays-machine-readable-dataset (accessed on 10 November 2017).
- New South Wales Health. Fact Sheets—Alcohol. Available online: http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mhdao/Factsheets/Pages/alcohol.aspx (accessed on 28 August 2018).
- Royal Life Saving Society—Australia. Royal Life Saving Society—Australia Drowning Database Definitions and Coding Manual 2017; Peden, A.E., Ed.; Royal Life Saving Society: Sydney, Australia, 2017. [Google Scholar]
- Peden, A.E.; Franklin, R.C.; Leggat, P.; Aitken, P. Causal Pathways of Flood Related River Drowning Deaths in Australia. PLoS Curr. Disasters 2017, 1, 1–24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Von Elm, E.; Altman, D.G.; Egger, M.; Pocock, S.J.; Gøtzsche, P.C.; Vandenbroucke, J.P.; STROBE Initiative. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 2008, 61, 344–349. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Peden, A.E.; Franklin, R.C.; Leggat, P.A. The Hidden Tragedy of Rivers: A decade of unintentional fatal drowning in Australia. PLoS ONE 2016, 11, e0160709. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Pajunen, T.; Vuori, E.; Vincenzi, F.F.; Lillsunde, P.; Smith, G.; Lunetta, P. Unintentional drowning: Role of medicinal drugs and alcohol. BMC Public Health 2017, 17, 388. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Ahlm, K.; Saveman, B.-I.; Björnstig, U. Drowning deaths in Sweden with emphasis on the presence of alcohol and drugs—A retrospective study, 1992–2009. BMC Public Health 2013, 13, 216. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Clemens, T.; Tamim, H.; Rotondi, M.; Macpherson, A.K. A population based study of drowning in Canada. BMC Public Health 2016, 16, 559. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Variables Analyzed | Total | Public Holiday | Other Days | Z Statistic (p-Value) | RR (Holiday Compared to Other Days) (95% CI) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | % | N | Incidence by Time of Exposure 1 | N | Incidence by Time of Exposure 1 | |||
Total | 4175 | 100.0 | 210 | 31.26 | 3965 | 18.13 | 16.01 (<0.01) * | 1.73 (1.57–1.89) |
Sex | ||||||||
Male | 3242 | 77.7 | 171 | 51.16 | 3071 | 28.21 | 12.06 (<0.01) * | 1.82 (1.63–2.02) |
Female | 933 | 22.3 | 39 | 11.56 | 894 | 8.14 | 2.39 (0.02) | 1.42 (1.07–1.90) |
Age group | ||||||||
0–4 Years | 458 | 11.0% | 22 | 50.00 | 436 | 30.44 | 2.41 (0.02) | 1.65 (1.10–2.46) |
5–9 Years | 117 | 2.8% | 4 | 9.56 | 113 | 8.30 | 0.29 (0.78) | 1.15 (0.43–3.09) |
10–14 Years | 77 | 1.8% | 8 | 19.33 | 69 | 5.12 | 3.86 (<0.01) * | 3.78 (1.85–7.74) |
15–17 Years | 81 | 1.9% | 6 | 23.34 | 75 | 8.96 | 2.37 (0.02) | 2.61 (1.15–5.91) |
18–24 Years | 409 | 9.8% | 28 | 42.39 | 381 | 17.72 | 4.79 (<0.01) * | 2.40 (1.68–3.42) |
25–34 Years | 618 | 14.8% | 43 | 44.50 | 575 | 18.28 | 6.19 (<0.01) * | 2.44 (1.85–3.22) |
35–44 Years | 538 | 12.9% | 23 | 24.30 | 515 | 16.71 | 1.87 (0.06) | 1.46 (0.98–2.15) |
45–64 Years | 1082 | 26.0% | 49 | 53.96 | 1033 | 34.94 | 3.02 (<0.01) * | 1.48 (1.15–1.90) |
65 Years or over | 795 | 19.0% | 27 | 35.17 | 768 | 30.73 | 0.76 (0.45) | 1.15 (0.80–1.64) |
Comparison to weekends | ||||||||
Excluding weekends | 2601 | 62.3% | 175 | 42.93 | 2426 | 22.22 | 14.46 (<0.01) * | 1.93 (1.54–2.42) |
Public holidays compared to weekends only | 1714 | 41.1% | 175 | 17.97 | 1539 | 14.87 | 15.76 (<0.01) * | 1.26 (1.14–1.40) |
Variables Analyzed | Total | Public Holiday | Other Days | Z Statistic (p-Value) | RR (Holiday Compared to Other Days) (CI) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | % | N | Incidence by Time of Exposure 1 | N | Incidence by Time of Exposure 1 | |||
Location of drowning incident (N = 4175) | ||||||||
Bathtub/Spa Bath | 294 | 7.0% | 7 | 2.09 | 287 | 2.64 | 0.62 (0.54) | 0.80 (0.38–1.66) |
Beach | 689 | 16.5% | 44 | 13.16 | 645 | 5.93 | 5.64 (<0.01) * | 2.22 (1.69–2.92) |
Lake/Dam/Lagoon | 393 | 9.4% | 21 | 6.28 | 372 | 3.42 | 2.87 (<0.01) * | 1.84 (1.22–2.79) |
Ocean/Harbour | 674 | 16.1% | 35 | 10.47 | 639 | 5.87 | 3.62 (<0.01) * | 1.79 (1.31–2.43) |
River/Creek/Stream | 1071 | 25.7% | 47 | 14.06 | 1024 | 9.41 | 3.04 (<0.01) * | 1.50 (1.16–1.94) |
Swimming Pool | 255 | 6.1% | 15 | 4.49 | 240 | 2.21 | 2.80 (<0.01) * | 2.04 (1.24–3.36) |
Rocks | 630 | 15.1% | 36 | 10.77 | 594 | 5.46 | 4.30 (<0.01) * | 1.98 (1.46–2.68) |
Other/unknown | 169 | 4.0% | 5 | 1.50 | 164 | 1.51 | 0.01 (0.99) | 0.99 (0.41–2.39) |
Blood Alcohol Content (n = 2421) # | ||||||||
Blood alcohol content <0.05% | 1802 | 74.4% | 93 | 27.82 | 1709 | 15.70 | 6.67 (<0.01) * | 1.77 (1.50–2.10) |
Blood alcohol content ≥0.05% | 619 | 25.6% | 37 | 11.07 | 582 | 5.35 | 4.67 (<0.01) * | 2.07 (1.53–2.80) |
Activity immediately prior to drowning (N = 4175) | ||||||||
Bathing | 274 | 6.6% | 7 | 2.09 | 267 | 2.45 | 0.42 (0.33) | 0.86 (0.41–1.78) |
Boating and Watercraft | 542 | 13.0% | 20 | 5.98 | 522 | 4.80 | 1.03 (0.30) | 1.25 (0.82–1.90) |
Falls | 792 | 19.0% | 38 | 11.37 | 754 | 6.93 | 3.26 (<0.01) * | 1.64 (1.22–22.1) |
Diving | 200 | 4.8% | 8 | 2.39 | 192 | 1.76 | 0.87 (0.38) | 1.36 (0.68–2.71) |
Jumped In | 67 | 1.6% | 4 | 1.20 | 63 | 0.58 | 1.45 (0.15) | 2.07 (0.76–5.62) |
Non–aquatic Transport 1 | 248 | 5.9% | 15 | 4.49 | 233 | 2.14 | 2.92 (<0.01) * | 2.10 (1.27–3.46) |
Rock Fishing | 168 | 4.0% | 8 | 2.39 | 160 | 1.47 | 1.38 (0.17) | 1.63 (0.81–3.26) |
Swimming and Recreating | 854 | 20.5% | 59 | 17.65 | 795 | 7.30 | 7.36 (<0.01) * | 2.42 (1.93–3.04) |
Other and Unknown | 1030 | 24.7% | 51 | 15.26 | 979 | 9.00 | 4.14 (<0.01) * | 1.70 (1.33–2.17) |
Visitors (n = 759) | ||||||||
Intrastate visitors | 514 | 37 | 11.07 | 477 | 4.38 | 5.92 (<0.01) * | 2.53 (1.87–3.43) | |
Interstate visitors | 245 | 16 | 4.79 | 229 | 2.10 | 3.35 (<0.01) * | 2.28 (1.40–3.70) |
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Barnsley, P.D.; Peden, A.E. A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Cohort Study Examining the Risk of Unintentional Fatal Drowning during Public Holidays in Australia. Safety 2018, 4, 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety4040042
Barnsley PD, Peden AE. A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Cohort Study Examining the Risk of Unintentional Fatal Drowning during Public Holidays in Australia. Safety. 2018; 4(4):42. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety4040042
Chicago/Turabian StyleBarnsley, Paul D., and Amy E. Peden. 2018. "A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Cohort Study Examining the Risk of Unintentional Fatal Drowning during Public Holidays in Australia" Safety 4, no. 4: 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety4040042
APA StyleBarnsley, P. D., & Peden, A. E. (2018). A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Cohort Study Examining the Risk of Unintentional Fatal Drowning during Public Holidays in Australia. Safety, 4(4), 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/safety4040042