Fellow, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Connecticut Children's Medical Center Vernon, Connecticut, United States
Background: Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death in children ages 1-4 years and 2nd cause in ages 5-14 years. Between 2019 and 2021, 2,786 U.S. children died from drowning. There are certain populations at higher risk for drowning such as toddlers, children with long QT and epilepsy. There are also racial disparities; black children have higher rates of drowning compared to white children. Researchers surmise that social, cultural, and environmental differences may be the root of these discrepancies. There are few studies that evaluate why black children have higher rates of drowning compared to children of other racial and ethnic groups. This study evaluates factors that may contribute to disparities in drowning rates in minority racial and ethnic groups to help guide public policy programs. Objective: Assess parental and teen perceptions of the child’s ability to swim and potential factors that are associated with this ability, and water safety knowledge of parents and in teens. Design/Methods: This is an Institutional Review Board reviewed cross-sectional survey. Inclusion criteria are parents of children ages birth-19 years and teens ages 13-19 years who present to the pediatric emergency department and communicate effectively in English and Spanish. Excluded are those who are critically ill or with significant behavioral health concerns such as suicidal ideation. The survey is a comprehensive, multiple-part study to assess water competency by assessing for 5 critical water safety skills, water safety knowledge, and factors that potentially influence drowning risk. Factors include history of swim lessons, access to lessons, access to pools or lakes, and religious and social beliefs. We plan to complete enrollment and analyses of 500 subjects by February 1, 2024. The clinical characteristics of the study groups will be examined using descriptive statistics. T test and chi-square analyses will be used to determine if there are differences in swimming ability by race, ethnicity, other demographic characteristics, and swimming related factors.
