Where Do People Drown? Encoding the Third Component of the 4W Model

Abstract

When there is human activity in, above, or around an aquatic environment, a drowning incident may occur due to rescuer characteristics, casualty characteristics, location, and general circumstances (Avramidis, Butterly, & Llewellyn, 2007). The aim of the current study was to identify locations where people drown. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze drowning incident videos (n = 41), and semistructured interviews were conducted of those involved in drowning incidents (n = 34). Drowning incidents may occur in any aquatic environment with a water depth that allows immersion or submersion, under a variety of environmental conditions where the ground is sloping, at any distance from safety, where anxiety exists, in the absence of safety regulations, or when the law is breached.