Coastal mortality burden on school holidays 2004-2021: an Australian perspective

School holidays are a known period of increased risk of paediatric drowning. However, the risk of coastal death for all age groups is unknown.

This case-control study aimed to identify high-risk demographics and behaviours relating to coastal deaths during the school holidays. We address this knowledge gap by comparing unintentional coastal deaths (drowning deaths and other coastal fatalities) in Australia between 1 July 2004-30 June 2021 to a survey sample representative of the Australian population.

School holidays increased the risk of coastal death increased overall by 1.39 times (95% CI 1.32 to 146, p=0.00019). This increased risk differed across activities, behaviours and demographics. Few between-group differences were detected, indicating that school holidays pose an increased risk to the wider Australian population on the coast, regardless of demographics and practices. Increased school holiday mortality risk was identified broadly across groups, but notably for young adults (risk ratio, RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.31 to 1.53, p<0.001), when attempting a rescue (RR 1.85, 95% CI 1.42 to 2.39, p=0.0002), scuba diving (RR 1.82, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.23, p<0.0001) and swimming/wading (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.56 to 1.89, p<0.0001). Children did not have a significantly increased risk of death (RR 1.38, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.87, p=0.054).

These results highlight that while school holiday risk research regarding drowning has focused on the safety of children, these time periods also pose significant safety concerns to the rest of the population for both drowning deaths and other fatalities. Overall, the research highlights ongoing need for public education for all carers of children, as well as continuing to extend risk education to the broader community. Mitigation strategies, that is, advocacy for extending life-saving service and engaging with accommodation providers during school holidays are proposed.