TY - JOUR PY - 2021// TI - Short communication: economic impact of drowning in the Great Lakes Region of North America JO - Ocean and coastal management A1 - Houser, Chris A1 - Arbex, Marcelo A1 - Trudeau, Christian SP - e105847 EP - e105847 VL - 212 IS - N2 - Surf-related drowning fatalities in the Great Lakes Region of North America is an emerging but underestimated public health issue. The relatively high proportion of drownings in the region have been attributed to a lack of beach safety education programs and lifeguard resources in the region. Using data collected by the Great Lakes Beach Safety Project, this study estimates the long-term economic impact of surf-related drownings based on the Value of a Statistical Life Year (VSLY). Not including the cost of hospitalizations and emergency services, surf-related drownings on the Great Lakes has an average economic burden of ~$105 million per year (USD). The total economic burden of surf-related drowning fatalities between 2011 and 2020 is over $1.1 billion (USD), which can be used to determine the net benefit of educational programming and lifeguard programs in the region.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0964-5691 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105847 ID - ref1 ER -