THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SCHOOL HOLIDAY AND UNINTENTIONAL FATAL DROWNING AMONG CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AGED 5-17 YEAR

Penn AE, Barnsely PD, Queiroga AC. J Paediatr Child Health. 2019;55:533-538.

The researchers cite that Australia has one of the lowest drowning rates for children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years thought to be in relation to the time spent in formal schooling. The authors chose a total population survey from 2005 to 2014 extracted from the Australian Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Report. The researchers looked at the dates of the drowning incidents and the residence to determine if the drowning occurred during a holiday-related time-off or regular school days.

It was found a total of 188 children 5 to 17 years old had drowned during the study period with a relative risk of drowning during holiday 2.40 times higher (confidence interval [CI], 1.82-3.18) than on a school day. The risk was similar for males and females. However, a difference was noted for children 5 to 9 years old (risk ratio, 3.05; CI, 1.98-4.72) and adolescents 10 to 17 years old (risk ratio, 2.02; CI, 1.38-2.93). The data also found that children with a lower socioeconomic status were at a higher risk of drowning.

The researchers concluded that drowning rates among 5- to 17-year-olds are more than twice as high during holidays than on school days, suggesting that school attendance causes a significant reduction in the risk of drowning. Recommendations included beginning formal school at the age of 4 years as children would be occupied and supervised. Other prevention strategies include counseling parent and care providers of the increased risk of drowning on holidays.