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Childhood drowning in low‐ and middle‐income countries: Urgent need for intervention trials
Author(s) -
Hyder Adnan A,
Borse Nagesh N,
Blum Lauren,
Khan Rasheda,
El Arifeen Shams,
Baqui Abdullah H
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1754.2007.01273.x
Subject(s) - medicine , psychological intervention , injury prevention , suicide prevention , poison control , intervention (counseling) , occupational safety and health , environmental health , public health , low and middle income countries , human factors and ergonomics , public health interventions , medical emergency , developing country , economic growth , nursing , pathology , economics
Data available for low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) indicate that the burden of drowning in children is significant and becoming a leading public health problem. At the same time, interventions for drowning are not well documented in LMICs. The overall purpose of this paper is to make the case for research investments in conducting intervention trials to prevent child drowning in LMICs. In high‐income countries (HICs), existing drowning prevention interventions include among others: pool fencing, supervision, lifeguards and water safety training at a young age. However, these measures may not be the most relevant in curtailing the number of drowning deaths in LMICs. There are differences with regard to geographical, social, cultural and behavioural factors associated with drowning between HICs and LMICs, often making it inappropriate to apply existing interventions directly in LMIC settings. This paper focuses on drowning from LMICs and reveals a dearth of data on incidence rates and risk factors; absence of public health interventions; lack of research on intervention effectiveness and cost‐effectiveness; and paucity of national drowning prevention programs. Based on this evidence, this paper calls for immediate attention to drowning prevention by increasing research investments. This paper specifically discusses Bangladesh as a case study and proposes a drowning intervention study focusing on children less than 5 years in LMICs as an example of appropriate research investment.