Dataset Information

Fatal river drowning: the identification of research gaps through a systematic literature review.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION:Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional death. Rivers are a common location for drowning. Unlike other location-specific prevention efforts (home swimming pools and beaches), little is known about prevention targeting river drowning deaths. METHODS:A systematic literature review was undertaken using English language papers published between 1980 and 2014, exploring gaps in the literature, with a focus on epidemiology, risk factors and prevention strategies for river drowning. RESULTS:Twenty-nine papers were deemed relevant to the study design including 21 (72.4%) on epidemiology, 18 (62.1%) on risk factors and 10 (34.5%) that proposed strategies for prevention. Risk factors identified included age, falls into water, swimming, using watercraft, sex and alcohol. DISCUSSION:Gaps were identified in the published literature. These included a lack of an agreed definition for rivers, rates for fatal river drowning (however, crude rates were calculated for 12 papers, ranging from 0.20 to 1.89 per 100?000 people per annum), and consensus around risk factors, especially age. There was only one paper that explored a prevention programme; the remaining nine outlined proposed prevention activities. There is a need for studies into exposure patterns for rivers and an agreed definition (with consistent coding). CONCLUSIONS:This systematic review has identified that river drowning deaths are an issue in many regions and countries around the world. Further work to address gaps in the published research to date would benefit prevention efforts.

SUBMITTER: Peden AE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4893118 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Fatal river drowning: the identification of research gaps through a systematic literature review.

Peden Amy E AE Franklin Richard C RC Leggat Peter A PA

Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention 20160104 3

<h4>Introduction</h4>Drowning is a leading cause of unintentional death. Rivers are a common location for drowning. Unlike other location-specific prevention efforts (home swimming pools and beaches), little is known about prevention targeting river drowning deaths.<h4>Methods</h4>A systematic literature review was undertaken using English language papers published between 1980 and 2014, exploring gaps in the literature, with a focus on epidemiology, risk factors and prevention strategies for ri ...[more]

PMID: 26728005

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Project description:INTRODUCTION:Unintentional drowning deaths are only part of the drowning profile, with little attention being paid to intentional drowning in Australia. Strategies for the prevention of intentional drowning deaths are likely to be different from unintentional. Quality documentation, analysis and dissemination of intentional deaths data is crucial for developing appropriate strategies for prevention. OBJECTIVE:To conduct a systematic literature review to investigate the mortality rates and risk factors of intentional drowning deaths in Australia. METHODS:A systematic search guided by PRISMA was performed using Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO (ProQuest), Scopus, Google Scholar, and BioMed Central databases to locate relevant original research articles published between 2007 and 2018. RESULTS:Ten papers reporting the mortality rates and risk factors of intentional drowning deaths in Australia published between 2007 and 2018, with study periods of the included articles spanning from 1907 to 2012, were reviewed. Most studies investigated suicidal drowning deaths in Australia, none reported homicidal drowning deaths. The downward trend of fatal suicide drowning was identified in Australia. The annual rate of intentional drowning between 1994 and 2012 can be inferred from eight studies, ranging from 0.06 to 0.21 for nation-wide mortality rates. The highest annual state-wide mortality rate was identified in the state of Queensland, ranging from 0.02 to 0.11 per 100,000 individuals. Of four studies examining the risk factors of fatal intentional drowning in Australia, being of older age groups, being female, and the presence of substance use were identified as important factors for suicidal drowning deaths. The national-scale proportion of suicide drowning in Australia, ranging from 2% to 3% of all intentional self-harm deaths, was also identified. CONCLUSION:Limited publications reporting the mortality rates and risk factors of intentional drowning deaths in Australia were identified. Being of older age groups and being female were recognised as factors for suicide drowning deaths, and psychoactive substances were widely identified amongst cases. Future research on improving death reporting systems and the legal framework for medico-legal death investigation, along with the investigation of the risk factors of intentional drowning, are required to inform the planning, implementation, and evaluation of prevention interventions for intentional drowning deaths in Australia.

Project description:ObjectivesThe epidemiology of fatal drowning is increasingly understood. By contrast, there is relatively little population-level research on non-fatal drowning. This study compares data on fatal and non-fatal drowning in Australia, identifying differences in outcomes to guide identification of the best practice in minimising the lethality of exposure to drowning.DesignA subset of data on fatal unintentional drowning from the Royal Life Saving National Fatal Drowning Database was compared on a like-for-like basis to data on hospital separations sourced from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's National Hospital Morbidity Database for the 13-year period 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2015. A restrictive definition was applied to the fatal drowning data to estimate the effect of the more narrow inclusion criteria for the non-fatal data (International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes W65-74 and first reported cause only). Incidence and ratios of fatal to non-fatal drowning with univariate and Χ2 analysis are reported and used to calculate case-fatality rates.SettingAustralia, 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2015.ParticipantsUnintentional fatal drowning cases and cases of non-fatal drowning resulting in hospital separation.Results2272 fatalities and 6158 hospital separations occurred during the study period, a ratio of 1:2.71. Children 0-4 years (1:7.63) and swimming pools (1:4.35) recorded high fatal to non-fatal ratios, whereas drownings among people aged 65-74 years (1:0.92), 75+ years (1:0.87) and incidents in natural waterways (1:0.94) were more likely to be fatal.ConclusionsThis study highlights the extent of the drowning burden when non-fatal incidents are considered, although coding limitations remain. Documenting the full burden of drowning is vital to ensuring that the issue is fully understood and its prevention adequately resourced. Further research examining the severity of non-fatal drowning cases requiring hospitalisation and tracking outcomes of those discharged will provide a more complete picture.

Project description:Background: Breast cancer rates have been increasing worldwide, particularly among young women, suggesting important interactions between genes and health behaviors. At the same time, mobile technology, including smartphones applications (apps), has emerged as a new tool for delivering healthcare and health-related services. As of 2018, there were nearly 600 publicly available breast cancer apps designed to provide disease and treatment information, to manage disease, and to raise overall awareness. However, the extent to which apps are incorporated into breast cancer prevention research is unknown. Therefore, the objective of this review was to determine how mobile applications are being used for breast cancer prevention among women across the cancer control continuum. Methods: Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection databases using the keywords breast cancer, smartphone, mobile application, and phone app. Full-length journal articles available in English that addressed the research question were included. We categorized articles by prevention type (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and phase of research (protocol, development, feasibility, pilot, measurement, and effectiveness), and identified common themes and gaps. Results: Our search yielded 82 studies (69 unique) that used apps in breast cancer prevention research across 20 countries. Approximately half of the named apps were publicly available. The majority (73%) of studies targeted tertiary prevention; 15% targeted secondary and 13% targeted primary prevention. Apps were used across all phases of research with the predominant phase being feasibility in tertiary prevention (34%), effectiveness in secondary prevention (63%), and development (30%) and effectiveness (30%) in primary prevention. Common uses included assessing outcomes relevant to clinical care coordination, quality of life, increasing self-efficacy and screening behaviors, and tracking and managing health behaviors. Conclusions: We identified the following gaps: few effectiveness studies in tertiary prevention, minimal use of apps for breast cancer etiology or early detection, and few interventions in those at average risk of breast cancer. These findings suggest that while mobile apps can inform breast cancer prevention across the continuum, more work is needed to incorporate apps into primary prevention.

Project description:BackgroundThe role of the human microbiome in health and disease is an emerging and important area of research; however, there is a concern that African populations are under-represented in human microbiome studies. We, therefore, conducted a systematic survey of African human microbiome studies to provide an overview and identify research gaps. Our secondary objectives were: (i) to determine the number of peer-reviewed publications; (ii) to identify the extent to which the researches focused on diseases identified by the World Health Organization [WHO] State of Health in the African Region Report as being the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in 2018; (iii) to describe the extent and pattern of collaborations between researchers in Africa and the rest of the world; and (iv) to identify leadership and funders of the studies.MethodologyWe systematically searched Medline via PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Academic Search Premier, Africa-Wide Information through EBSCOhost, and Web of Science from inception through to 1st April 2020. We included studies that characterized samples from African populations using next-generation sequencing approaches. Two reviewers independently conducted the literature search, title and abstract, and full-text screening, as well as data extraction.ResultsWe included 168 studies out of 5515 records retrieved. Most studies were published in PLoS One (13%; 22/168), and samples were collected from 33 of the 54 African countries. The country where most studies were conducted was South Africa (27/168), followed by Kenya (23/168) and Uganda (18/168). 26.8% (45/168) focused on diseases of significant public health concern in Africa. Collaboration between scientists from the United States of America and Africa was most common (96/168). The first and/or last authors of 79.8% of studies were not affiliated with institutions in Africa. Major funders were the United States of America National Institutes of Health (45.2%; 76/168), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (17.8%; 30/168), and the European Union (11.9%; 20/168).ConclusionsThere are significant gaps in microbiome research in Africa, especially those focusing on diseases of public health importance. There is a need for local leadership, capacity building, intra-continental collaboration, and national government investment in microbiome research within Africa. Video Abstract.

Project description:BackgroundCo-ordinated, evidence-based policy and programmatic efforts are needed to respond to complex drowning prevention problems. Comprehensive, current, and robust data are vital for agenda setting, burden and risk factor identification, intervention design and evaluation, as well as setting policy. We aim to record methods used in, and identify impacts of, the development of a national fatal drowning database (NFDD) in Australia, including lessons learned across research, policy, and practice.MethodsWe employ a case study method using process mapping and document review to explore the evolution, drivers and impacts of the NFDD. We analyse methodological approaches including those relating to data definitions, drowning case collection, and management, as well as tracking the various outputs of the NFDD. We describe a development timeline that presents impact of drowning prevention policy, and research agendas on database development, and research investments more specifically.ResultsOur study identified that the collected variables grew 20-fold from 2002 to 2022, reaching 259 variables, and 5,692 unique cases of fatal drowning. The NFDD employs data triangulation methodology, combining keyword and targeted searches of coronial files, media report monitoring, and organisational data provision. Database development is influenced by the Australia Water Safety Strategy, policymaker and practitioner-initiated research agendas, and identification of knowledge gaps. We identified numerous outputs spanning publications, media, intervention development, and legislative submissions.ConclusionA comprehensive and robust NFDD informed by policymaker and practitioner input can enhance surveillance, policy, and intervention development for drowning prevention. Employing mixed data collection and validation methods can supplement weaknesses in official data sources. There is a need for the NFDD to continue to evolve in its application while maintaining rigorous case identification and data quality assurance processes. Despite significant investment, the outputs and influence on drowning prevention practice in Australia has been extremely valuable and contributed to sizeable reductions in Australia's fatal drowning rate.

Dataset Information

Fatal river drowning: the identification of research gaps through a systematic literature review.

Publications

Fatal river drowning: the identification of research gaps through a systematic literature review.

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