Gitanjali Saluja ^1*, Ruth A. Brenner ¹, Ann C. Trumble ¹, Gordon S. Smith ², Tom Schroeder ³, Christopher Cox ¹

¹ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
² Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety
³ United States Consumer Product Safety Commission

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: salujag{at}mail.nih.gov.

	Abstract

Objective. We examined circumstances surrounding swimming pool drownings among US residents aged 5 to 24 years to understand why Black males and other racial/ethnic groups have high drowning rates.

Methods. We obtained data about drowning deaths in the United States (1995-1998) from death certificates, medical examiner reports, and newspaper clippings collected by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Results. During the study period, 678 US residents aged 5 to 24 years drowned in pools. Seventy-five percent were male, 47% were Black, 33% were White, and 12% were Hispanic. Drowning rates were highest among Black males, and this increased risk persisted after we controlled for income. The majority of Black victims (51%) drowned in public pools, the majority of White victims (55%) drowned in residential pools, and the majority of Hispanic victims (35%) drowned in neighborhood pools (e.g., an apartment complex pool). Foreign-born males also had an increased risk for drowning compared with American-born males.

Conclusions. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce the incidence of swimming pool drownings across racial/ethnic groups, particularly adult supervision at public pools.

Key Words: Adolescent Health, Injury/Emergency Care/Violence, African Americans/Blacks

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