Challenges in documenting non‐fatal drowning disability in bangladesh: A community‐based survey

Abstract

Limited access to health care and the lack of robust data systems means non‐fatal drownings are largely missed in low‐and middle‐income countries. We report morbidity among individuals who experienced non‐fatal drowning in the Barishal Division, Bangladesh. A representative household survey was conducted in the Barishal Division in southern Bangladesh between September 2016 and February 2017, covering a population of 386,016. The burden of non‐fatal drowning was assessed using the WHODAS 2.0 disability assessment tool, a generic assessment instrument for health and disability. A total of 5164 non‐fatal drowning events occurred in the one year preceding the survey. Among these 18% were multiple events. From these, 4235 people were administered the WHODAS 2.0 questionnaire. Non‐fatal drowning incidence rates were highest in children aged 1–4 years at 5810 per 100,000 population, and among males. Non‐fatal drowning was associated with lower socio‐economic status and larger family sizes. Few respondents (6.5%; 95% CI: 4.5–8.4%) reported some level of disability (WHODAS‐12 score >8). Incidence of non‐fatal drowning is high in the population, however limited impact on morbidity was found. There is a need to develop tools and methodologies for reliable and comparable data for non‐fatal drowning, especially to capture post‐event disability in children.