Funded Projects

Drowning Prevention in Rhode Island Youth

Project Year

2023

City & State

Providence, Rhode Island

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Injury & Violence (LHI)

Program Description

The Problem According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), drowning deaths are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths for children ages 0-17 years old and the leading cause of death in childhood for children ages 1-4 years old throughout the United States (U.S.). The CDC also reports that in the U.S., there are an estimated 3,960 fatal unintentional drownings annually – an average of 11 drowning deaths per day; and 8,080 nonfatal drownings annually – an average of 22 nonfatal drownings per day. For every child who dies from drowning, eight children seek emergency department care for non-fatal drowning. Even so, nonfatal drownings can result in expensive hospital stays and chronic health issues including the potential for brain damage and long-term disabilities. Primary Setting As “The Ocean State,” RI boasts approximately 400 miles of coastline, making it a top destination for water activities all throughout the year. With over 50 beaches and over 20 lakes and ponds, the children of RI are particularly vulnerable to the risk of drowning. Number of Children Affected According to the 2020 U.S. Census, 21.3% of the Providence Metropolitan area’s population is composed of individuals less than 18 years of age with 6.1% of the population representing individuals under 5 years of age. Therefore, yearly drownings and near drownings have the potential to impact approximately 40,669 children throughout Providence, 11,647 of which are under the age of 5 years old. Project Goal Our goal is to identify ways to significantly reduce drowning-associated morbidity and mortality amongst the pediatric population of Providence, RI. Proposed Intervention We intend to partner with local community institutions to conduct a community health needs assessment to identify the knowledge gap regarding drowning, water safety, and water competency and the barriers to accessing swim lessons and water safety education within this community. Anticipated Outcomes Based on the results of our community health needs assessment and with the help of our community partners, we anticipate that we will identify and address barriers to accessing swim lessons for kids, gaps in caregiver knowledge and skills surrounding water safety, needs for water safety gear, and other factors contributing to water safety within the Providence community. We anticipate applying this data to plan future interventions that will decrease frequency of drowning events in the Providence community. We hope to equip our pediatric patients and their families as well as the larger Providence community with the knowledge, skills, and safety gear to remain safe while swimming.

Project Goal

To identify and outline at least 3 feasible interventions to address the barriers to water safety within the Providence community.

Project Objective 1

Create and distribute a survey to identify the barriers within our community to water safety by January 2024.

Project Objective 2

Analyze data collected in our surveys in order to identify at least 3 common barriers to water safety in our community by March 2024.

Project Objective 3

With the help of our community partners, outline at least 3 interventions that address the barriers identified though the surveys by June 2024.

AAP District

District I

Institutional Name

Hasbro Children's Hospital

Contact 1

Elizabeth Haxton

Contact 2

Olivia Young