@article{ref1,
title="Persistent racial/ethnic disparities in fatal unintentional drowning rates among persons aged ≤29 years - United States, 1999-2019",
journal="MMWR: Morbidity and mortality weekly report",
year="2021",
author="Clemens, Tessa and Moreland, Briana and Lee, Robin",
volume="70",
number="24",
pages="869-874",
abstract="During 1999-2019, a total of 81,947 unintentional drowning deaths occurred in the United States (1). Drowning is one of the three leading causes of unintentional injury death among persons aged ≤29 years and results in more deaths among children aged 1-4 years than any other cause except birth defects (2). Drowning death rates have decreased since 1990 (declining by 57% worldwide and by 32% in the United States) (3). However, because of racial/ethnic disparities in drowning risk, rates remain high among certain racial/ethnic groups, particularly American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons and Black or African-American (Black) persons (4). To assess whether decreasing drowning death rates have been accompanied by reductions in racial/ethnic disparities, and to further describe these disparities by age group and setting, CDC analyzed U.S. mortality data during 1999-2019. The drowning death rate among persons aged ≤29 years was 1.3 per 100,000 population. The rate per 100,000 among AI/AN persons (2.5) and Black persons (1.8) was higher than among all other racial/ethnic groups and was 2.0 and 1.5 times higher than among White persons (1.2). Racial/ethnic disparities in drowning death rates did not significantly decline for most groups, and the disparity in rates among Black persons compared with White persons increased significantly from 2005-2019. Drowning death rates are associated with persistent and concerning racial/ethnic disparities. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to drowning disparities is needed. Implementing and evaluating community-based interventions, including those promoting basic swimming and water safety skills, among disproportionately affected racial/ethnic groups could help reduce drowning disparities.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0149-2195",
doi="10.15585/mmwr.mm7024a1",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7024a1"
}