Each year, there are over 4,000 unintentional drowning deaths in the US. More children ages 1-4 die from unintentional drowning than any other cause except birth defects and drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5-14.1 Despite the availability of promising drowning prevention interventions, racial and socioeconomic disparities persist in fatal drowning outcomes. Black children ages 10-14 years drown in swimming pools at rates 7.6 times that of white children and American Indian/Alaskan Native children ages 10-14 drown in natural water at rates 3.2 times that of white children.2 Furthermore, communities with lower median income and lower educational attainment have higher drowning rates.3

The National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention (National Center) is pleased to launch the Drowning Death Scene Investigation and Child Death Review (CDR) Project. The National Center was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2021 to support the development of a standardized drowning death scene investigation (DSI) form and enhanced data collection by existing CDR teams. Additionally, the National Center is supporting pilot sites to use the DSI form and review and provide data for 100% of the pediatric drowning deaths in their jurisdictions. Pilot sites are currently funded through the end of 2022.

The work is enriched by the support of a national workgroup to provide feedback on the DSI form and data collection process and infrastructure support from the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI).

The project seeks to address both the lack of a nationally standardized drowning investigation process and the burden and observed disparities in drowning deaths in children and youth to increase the understanding of the context and drivers of these outcomes and disparities.

The goals of the project are:

  1. To develop a standardized drowning investigation tool.
  2. To pilot the drowning tool and enhanced data collection in child drowning deaths using existing child fatality review programs.
  3. To assess the feasibility of a national drowning case registry.

1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars. Accessed 21 April 2022.
2 Clemens T, Moreland B, Lee R. Persistent Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Fatal Unintentional Drowning Rates Among Persons Aged ≤29 Years-United States, 1999-2019. MMWR 2021;70;869-874
3 Dai, D., Zhang, Y., Lynch, C., Miller, T., & Shakir, M. (2013). Childhood drowning in Georgia: a geographic information system analysis. Applied Geography, 37, 11–22. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2012.10.006.

Approved users of the database have received a username and password. If you need login credentials, please contact Gabby Fraley (gfraley@mphi.org).

An interdisciplinary workgroup has been convened to provide input into the draft DSI form and the ongoing project. The workgroup includes:

  • Tessa Clemens, PhD—Health Scientist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Cinnamon Dixon, DO, MPH—Medical Officer, Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health
  • Michelle Jorden, MD— Chief Medical Examiner, Santa Clara County, CA
  • Morag MacKay, PhD- Director of Research, Safe Kids Worldwide
  • Heather MacLeod, MS, CGC – Senior Project Manager, Sudden Death in the Young Case Registry
  • Diane Pilkey, RN, MPH—Senior Nurse Consultant, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Todd Porter, MD, MSPH—Pediatrician, Quincy Medical Group
  • Linda Quan, MD- Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Seattle Children’s Hospital; Professor Emeritus, Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine
  • Andrew Schmidt, DO, MPH—Assistance Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida-Jacksonville
  • Justin Sempsrott, MD—Executive Director, Lifeguards Without Borders
  • Andrea Zaferes- TeamLGS, Water Rescue/Recovery Instructor; Medicolegal Death Investigator, Duchess County Medical Examiner Office; RespondAgainstViolence aquatic abuse and homicide investigation trainer

Workgroup objectives include:

  • Review and provide feedback on draft DSI form
  • Provide input on additional tools/resources to support users
  • Support dissemination and adoption of final DSI form

For questions regarding the pilot, the DSI Form, or for technical support, contact the National Center at info@ncfrp.org

You may also contact the following project staff directly:

  • Susanna Joy: sjoy@mphi.org
  • Gabby Fraley: gfraley@mphi.org