Gaps in the evidence for interventions in global drowning research

Since 2014, drowning has received increased political attention. Translating this political commitment to saving lives needs policy-supported evidence-informed interventions. An evidence gap map (EGM) was developed, which aims to facilitate the strategic prioritisation of future research and efficient commissioning of interventions.

Available evidence was sought by searching four electronic databases using drowning key terms from 2005 to 2023. Peer-reviewed studies, which measured the outcome of a drowning prevention intervention, were included in the EGM. Classification of interventions was guided by the WHO's recommendations for drowning prevention interventions and strategies. Intervention outcomes were classified into health, social, economic, policy and other supporting outcomes.

49 intervention studies were identified. Of these, 25 studies were conducted in high-income countries (HICs), 19 in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), 3 in both HICs and LMICs and 2 were not country specific. Interventions, which used community education, were the most common (n=29, 27%), followed by teaching school-age children swimming and water safety skills (n=13, 12%) and others combined (n=66, 61%). Majority of interventions focused on process outcomes such as knowledge acquisition (n=42, 39%) in comparison with objective outcomes such as incidence of drowning mortality (n=21, 19%). No studies reported on interventions that manage flood risks.

Knowledge gaps of effective drowning prevention interventions were identified using an EGM, emphasising the need for methodological advancements reporting on outcomes measures, implementation research and targeted research among high-risk populations in LMICs.