Abstract
Objectives: i) to identify factors that contribute to the global trend of the higher incidence of male drowning relative to females, and; ii) to explore relationships between such factors from mortality data in New Zealand. Methods: Drownings from 1983 to 2012 were examined for: Age, Ethnicity, Site, Activity, Buoyancy and Alcohol. Conditional frequency tables presented as mosaic plots were used to assess the interactions of these factors. Results: Alcohol was involved in a high proportion of Accidental Immersion drownings (61%) and was highest for males aged 20-24 years. When alcohol was involved there were proportionally more incidences where a life jacket was Available But Not Worn and less incidences where a life jacket was Worn. Many 30-39 year old males drowned during underwater activities (e.g., snorkeling, diving). Older men (aged +55 years old) had a high incidence of drowning while boating. Different ethnicities were over-represented in different age groups (Asian men aged 25-29, and European men aged 65-74) and when involved in different activities. Conclusions: Numerous interacting factors are responsible for male drownings. In New Zealand, drowning locations and activities differ by age and ethnicity which require targeted intervention strategies.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
2015
Faculty
Faculty of Health, Engineering and Science
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLOS)
School
School of Exercise and Health Sciences
RAS ID
21630
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Comments
Croft, J. L., & Button, C. (2015). Interacting Factors Associated with Adult Male Drowning in New Zealand. PLoS ONE, 10(6), e0130545. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0130545. Available here