Drowning Prevention Research Online Meeting - Friday, 13 October 2023

The Drowning Prevention Research Online Meeting took place from 11-13 October 2023 in collaboration with the International Drowning Research Alliance (IDRA). The meeting provided the opportunity to those working in drowning prevention and treatment to present and listen to the most recent advances in the areas of: drowning prevention and education, climate change and drowning, and the medical & physiological aspects of drowning.
Drowning remains a global pandemic claiming the lives of at least 1000 people a day (2.5 million in 10 years), and leaving many more with life-long morbidity. Nearly two-thirds of those that die are under 30 years old, with a quarter of these being under 5 years old. This represents over 64 million years of life lost, over 10 years. The majority of drownings are from low-income countries and the drowning threat is set to get worse with climate change and rising sea levels: three quarter of a billion people are currently living below predicted high tide levels.
Time stamps:
00:00 - Dr Paddy Morgan, Southmead Hospital, UK
Welcome and Introductions
05:00 - Dr Dion van de Schoot, Te Whatu Ora Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand and Surfing Medicine International, The Hague, The Netherlands
The utility of point of care ultrasound in drowning resuscitation
15:46 - Dominic Bown, Institute of Naval Medicine, Royal Navy, UK
Use of AEDs in military and occupational diving
28:54 - Dr Clare Eglin, Extreme Environments Laboratory, University of Portsmouth, UK
Improving floating competency of inexperienced water users in open sea and fresh water
42:56 - Dora Carolo, University of Lisbon, Portugal
Physical literacy as an emergent concept in drowning prevention and aquatic education: Developing a school-based program design in Portugal (“AquaPhyLit”)
01:01:26 - Dr Michael Parkes, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
A simple explanation for unexpected drowning of otherwise healthy humans during recreational swimming
01:12:48 - Leonardo Manino, EPSA, Argentina, International Life Saving Federation Medical Committee, IDRA and Prehospital Medicine Argentinean Society (SAMPRE), Argentina
Drowning resuscitation: Special considerations for prehospital management
01:26:14 - Kai Valonen, Safety Investigation Authority Finland, Finland
Theme study on accidental drownings in Finland in 2021
01:42:29 - Dr Clare Eglin, Extreme Environments Laboratory, University of Portsmouth, UK
Evaluation of online information on the cold shock response to accidental immersion in cold water
01:56:08 - Max Avis, SOS Mediterranee, France
Evolution of small boat migrant rescue
The meeting was held over three days to ensure global participation and to maximise research dissemination and discussion.