ArticlePublic health in practice (Oxford, England)2026
Quantifying the costs of unintentional and intentional drowning in the United Kingdom: A secondary data analysis study.
Article in Public health in practice (Oxford, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Objectives: Drowning is a significant cause of intentional and unintentional fatality in many countries, particularly in young people, but is largely preventable. Measuring Years of Life Lost (YLL) enables the economic Value of a Life Year (VOLY) to be calculated to understand disease burden. We established the YLL and VOLY for drowning (incl. water-related fatalities) in the UK, and the nations comprising the UK (i.e., England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) to quantify the benefits of prevention and policy formation. Study design: Cross-sectional. Methods: Data were retrieved from the UK's Water Incident Database (WAID) for a representative, audited year (i.e., 2023). YLL was conceptualised by the Global Burden of Disease study as a measure to estimate the loss of years of life associated with a death. Age and sex distribution at death enabled YLL calculation using age-group mid-point differences calculated against average life expectancy. VOLY was calculated by multiplying this difference by the current monetary value for a Statistical Life Year in the UK (£60,000). Results: YLL to drowning in 2023 was 15,557 (VOLY £933,444,000). Accident suspected (7755 YLL, VOLY £465,312,000) and suicide suspected (4867 YLL, VOLY £291,990,000) were the primary contributors across the UK. Accidents accounted for 5464.3, 1087.5, 1076.2, 127.2 YLL in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. Conclusions: We support the WHO estimations that drowning causes significant economic losses that provide a compelling case to invest in prevention. Drowning represents a significant personal, social and financial burden on UK society. This burden can, relatively easily, be reduced with wide-ranging benefits. This requires senior political representation, good data acquisition to target interventions, public education on drowning prevention including water safety skills (competency), policy formation and financial support. Cost of non-fatal events, search and rescue and medical treatment should also be quantified to obtain a comprehensive picture.
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