An enquiry into the frequency of drowning cases in the provinces bordering the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea from 2011 to 2014

Introduction: In Iran, few studies have been carried out on the frequency of drowning cases in the country's southern and northern coasts. The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of drowning cases in the provinces with northern and southern coastal margins from 2011 to 2014 and to examine the risk factors related to drowning mortality. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study made use of the data from The Country’s Reports of Drowning in the Provinces Bordering the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea by the Center of Disaster Management and Emergency Response, Office of Disaster Prevention and Safety Promotion, Iran, which were also registered at the Health Departments of Universities of Medical Sciences in Mazandaran, Guilan, Golestan, Khuzestan, Bushehr, and Hormozgan. The data were statistically analyzed by SPSS V.16 software. For descriptive analysis, frequency percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used. Results: The highest frequency of drowning was related to Mazandaran Province (65.3 percent). Among instances of drowning, the majority of them led to death (64.7%). Men (79.5%) had the highest percentage of cases. Age group 20-24 years (20.4%) had the highest number of drowning. Most drowning incidents happened during summer, the month of August (30.6), and guest people (from other provinces) (72.9%). Conclusions: With regard to the findings of this study and the rate of drowning and deaths related to drowning, it is required that more comprehensive prevention programs be designed to deal with this health problem and to reduce losses and tolls. Improving the beaches and increasing the protected areas at coastal stretches of the country are among the safety measures that can be helpful in this regard.