Behavioral&Environmental Risk Factors For Child Drowning

溺水是美国儿童意外伤害死亡的主要原因。5岁以下儿童的溺水风险尤其高，1-2岁儿童的溺水率最高。虽然一些预防战略，如泳池围栏，已知是有效的，但其他预防战略的影响尚不清楚。例如，缺乏关于游泳课程或游泳能力与溺水风险之间关系的数据，这给制定幼儿参加游泳课程的指导方针和政策带来了困难。关于儿童溺水风险和保护因素的信息将为设计未来的干预措施提供宝贵的指导，以防止这些悲惨的死亡。本研究采用病例对照设计评估游泳课程、游泳能力等风险或保护因素与溺水风险之间的关系。主要研究假设解决了游泳课程与1至4岁儿童溺水风险之间的关系，而次要假设解决了年龄较大的儿童溺水的风险和保护因素。溺水者的父母或监护人以及年龄相匹配的对照组的父母或监护人将接受采访。还将对14-19岁的青少年进行简短的访谈。访谈的问题包括接触水、游泳能力、参加游泳课程以及其他一些可能影响溺水风险的因素。这项研究的数据收集始于2003年4月，预计将持续到2005年8月。

Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional injury death among children in the United States. Children under the age of five years are at particularly increased risk with drowning rates peaking among 1-2 year olds. While some preventive strategies, such as pool fencing, are known to be effective, the impact of other preventive strategies is unclear. For example, data regarding the relationship between swimming lessons or swimming ability and the risk of drowning are lacking, making it difficult to formulate guidelines and policies about enrollment of young children in swimming lessons. Information about risk and protective factors for childhood drownings will provide valuable guidance for the design of future interventions to prevent these tragic deaths. This study utilizes a case-control design to evaluate the relationship between swimming lessons, swimming ability, and other risk or protective factors on the one hand, and the risk of drowning on the other. The primary study hypothesis addresses the relationship between swimming lessons and the risk of drowning among children ages 1 to 4 years, while secondary hypotheses address risk and protective factors for drowning among older children. Parents or guardians of drowning victims and parents/guardians of age-matched controls will be interviewed. A short interview will also be conducted with adolescent controls, aged 14-19 years. Interviews include questions regarding exposure to water, swimming ability, participation in swimming lessons, and a number of other factors that might influence the risk of drowning. Data collection for this study began in April, 2003 and is expected to continue through August, 2005.