HHS HealthBeat (March 1, 2012)

Staying afloat

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Nicholas Garlow with HHS HealthBeat.

Drowning is the second leading cause of injury death among teens and children in the United States. Sixteen years of hospitalization data on children related to drowning shows U.S. rates have been cut in half.

Stephen Bowman is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“Boys and girls declined; as well in all regions of the U.S. we saw decreases in drowning.” (5 seconds) 

Simple habits can help kids stay safe in the water.

“I would encourage parents to continue to supervise, to do everything they can to make sure that when children are swimming, that they are in an area with a lifeguard, or in constant supervision by somebody who can provide rescue.” (11 seconds)

The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Nicholas Garlow.

Last revised: March 1, 2012