United States: The drowning rates in the United States have been on a downward trend for years, but avid data watchers from the Centers for Disease Control have begun to raise alarm as numbers go up.
As the Memorial Day long holiday weekend comes knocking at the door and numerous Americans make their way to the pools and the beaches, a recent study draws attention to the severe deficiencies in water safety skills that many people have, and which pose a real threat to the lives of those individuals.
More Details on the Findings
Approximately 15 percent of Americans, totaling 40 million individuals, lack basic swimming abilities. More than half of the country’s population has never undergone formal swimming lessons, as reported in the latest national survey by CNN Health, citing CDC data.
This newly obtained information regarding the swimming skills of the adult American population was released by the CDC as part of a Vital Signs report.
Dr. Debra Houry, chief medical officer for the CDC, said, “When I just look at the overall numbers, with over 4,000 people dying – that’s over 12 people a day – that’s really one person every two hours. And those are lives, not numbers,” as CNN health reported.
Discriminatory Trends in Drowning Cases
Certain age and racial groups have experienced a more pronounced increase in drownings.
Drowning remains a significant cause of death among preschool-aged children, with a nearly threefold increase (30 percent) in cases within this age group reported in 2021 and 2022.
Although new cases of drowning deaths among children under four increased in 2020, the statistical significance of this increase was minimal.
Black individuals experienced a more than 28 percent increase in drowning rates compared to 2019, surpassing the rise seen in the general population.
Despite spending less time in swimming pools and other aquatic areas compared to Hispanics and Whites, Black Americans reported fewer instances of exercising in or near water. This disparity in reported drowning rates was attributed to lifestyle exposure rather than population numbers, potentially exacerbating disparities for Black individuals.
Additionally, the CDC’s survey on swim skills revealed that Black adults were three times more likely to report being unable to swim compared to adults from other communities. This discrepancy is seen as a legacy of past segregation and discrimination, persisting into the present day.