Deaths by Drowning Incidents During Recreational Boating and Similar Activities

Water based activities are an important part of outdoor recreation which can be classified as waterdependent and frequently water-related activities or as motorized or non-motorized activities. Increase in the number of participants in water-based activities causes plenty of unintentional injuries. Unintentional injuries which occur during water-dependent activities as swimming, sailing, canoeing/kayaking, water skiing, paddle boating, or lying on any buoyant equipment as sea mattresses and unmodified inner tubes can result in drowning, near-drowning and spinal cord injuries resulting in paralysis. Among these results, drowning has become an accident of affluence which can be defined as the process of experiencing respiratory impairment from submersion/immersion in liquid. It may result by death, morbidity, or no morbidity. The aim of this study is to find out and examine both incidents which result in death of recreational users of any motorized or nonmotorized boats, sea mattresses, unmodified inner tubes, paddle boats and basic characteristics of drowned victims. This research is an online based, descriptive and retrospective study which covers a five years period between the dates January 1 2006 and December 31 2010. This study is one of the first studies to examine st st deaths by drowning during recreational boating and similar activities in Turkey. Recreational boating and similar activities participants should be strongly encouraged for increasing their swimming ability and wearing a Personal Floatation Device (PFD).