SynthesisBMC public health2017
The epidemiology of drowning in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Basic swimming or water safety skills training for drowning prevention in children: an updated systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Using ERIC to Assess Implementation Science in Drowning Prevention Interventions in High-Income Countries: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- A Review of Interventions for Drowning Prevention Among Adults.Journal of community health · 2023Pooled it
- Drowning in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a systematic literature review of the epidemiology, risk factors and strategies for prevention.BMC public health · 2022Pooled it
- Day care as a strategy for drowning prevention in children under 6 years of age in low- and middle-income countries.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Opportunities for the development of drowning interventions in West Bengal, India: a review of policy and government programs.BMC public health · 2020Pooled it
- Estimating drowning mortality in Tanzania: a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing data sources.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2019Pooled it
- Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Measures for Preventing Drowning in Africa: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Pooled it
- Influence of a Survival Swimming Training Programme on Water Safety Knowledge, Attitudes and Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial among Young Adults in Sri Lanka.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Spatio-temporal clustering of drowning mortality in Iran, from 2005 to 2022.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2026Article
- Behind the scenes of deaths of swimming adults in the water: sudden cardiac deaths.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2026Article
- Water-related fatalities in Salzburg and Upper Austria between 2015 and 2022 - a retrospective evaluation with a focus on the informative value of drowning signs.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Article
- Water safety perceptions and practices across tourist sites in West Bengal, India.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Burden of unintentional drowning in Indonesia: insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention · 2025Article
- Drowning deaths in West Bengal, India: a statewide community-based survey.BMJ global health · 2025Observational
- Associations between muscle-strengthening exercise and depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Make the Right Call: formative evaluation for a water safety programme for adults in Western Australia.Global health promotion · 2025Article
- Hospital admissions for non-fatal drowning in Finland, 2002-2023: a nationwide population-based register study.Injury epidemiology · 2025Article
- A Cross-Sectional Study of Drowning in Saudi Arabia Using First Responder Data.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- National estimates of mortality of unintentional drowning in China from 1990 to 2021 and its predicted level in the next decade: results from the global burden of disease study 2021.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAccording to the World Health Organization, drowning is the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths worldwide, accounting for 370,000 annual deaths and 7% of all injury-related deaths. Low- and middle-income countries are the most affected, accounting for 91% of unintentional drowning deaths.
methodsThe authors performed a systematic review of literature indexed in EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Traumatology journals formerly indexed in PubMed in January 2014 and again in September 2016. Abstracts were limited to human studies in English, conducted in low- and middle-income countries, and containing quantitative data on drowning epidemiology.
resultsA total of 62 articles met inclusion criteria. The majority of articles originate from Asia (56%) and Africa (26%). Risk factors for drowning included young age (<17-20 years old), male gender (75% vs. 25% female), rural environment (84% vs. 16% urban), occurring in the daytime (95% vs. 5% night time), lack of adult supervision (76% vs. 18% supervised), and limited swimming ability (86% vs. 10% with swimming ability). There was almost equal risk of drowning in a small body of water versus a large body of water (42% ponds, ditches, streams, wells; 46% lakes, rivers, sea, ocean).
conclusionDrowning is a significant cause of injury-related deaths, especially in LMICs. Young males who are unsupervised in rural areas and have limited formal swimming instruction are at greatest risk of drowning in small bodies of water around their homes. Preventative strategies include covering wells and cisterns, fencing off ditches and small ponds, establishing community daycares, providing formal swimming lessons, and increasing awareness of the risks of drowning.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.