Stevenson Mark R, Rimajova Miroslava, Edgecombe Dean, Vickery Ken
Injury Research Centre, School of Population Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia.
Pediatrics. 2003 Feb;111(2):E115-9. doi: 10.1542/peds.111.2.e115.
To investigate the causes of child drowning and determine the need for changes in the legislation as well as improvements to the inspection and enforcement of current legislation related to barriers surrounding private swimming pools.
There were 3 stages to the study: a retrospective review of coroner's data, an audit of swimming pool inspections, and in-depth interviews with swimming pool inspectors in Western Australia. The incidence of childhood drowning (per population) and compliance rates of swimming pools (per 1000 swimming pools) to the legislation were measured.
During the 12-year observational period (1988-2000) 50 children younger than 5 years drowned in private swimming pools in Western Australia with an overall incidence of drowning of 4.4 per 100 000 children per year. Sixty-eight percent of drownings occurred in pools that did not have 4-sided fencing with an almost 2-fold increased risk (incidence rate ratio: 1.78; 95% confidence interval: 1.40-1.79) of a child's drowning in a swimming pool with 3-sided versus 4-sided fencing. The compliance rate of swimming pools (compliance to the current legislation) at first inspection was approximately 400 per 1000 swimming pools.
Almost two thirds of the swimming pools in which children drowned had only 3-sided fencing. With a combination of a change in legislation, enhanced inspection processes, and public education, the incidence of drowning in private swimming pools in Western Australia could be reduced in the coming years.
调查儿童溺水的原因，确定是否需要修改立法，并改进与私人游泳池周边围栏相关现行立法的检查和执法工作。
该研究分三个阶段进行：对验尸官数据进行回顾性分析、对游泳池检查情况进行审计，以及对西澳大利亚州的游泳池检查员进行深入访谈。统计儿童溺水发生率（每人口）和游泳池对立法的合规率（每1000个游泳池）。
在12年观察期（1988 - 2000年）内，西澳大利亚州有50名5岁以下儿童在私人游泳池溺水，溺水总发生率为每年每10万名儿童中有4.4人。68%的溺水事件发生在没有四面围栏的游泳池中，与有四面围栏的游泳池相比，儿童在有三面围栏的游泳池溺水的风险几乎增加了一倍（发生率比：1.78；95%置信区间：1.40 - 1.79）。首次检查时游泳池的合规率（符合现行立法情况）约为每1000个游泳池中有大约400个合规。
儿童溺水的游泳池中，近三分之二只有三面围栏。通过立法修改、加强检查流程和公众教育相结合的方式，未来几年西澳大利亚州私人游泳池溺水事件的发生率可能会降低。
