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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Michael Osur, MBA¹, Olivia Ballesteros, BA¹, Phill Coon, MS², Michael Osur, MBA³, and Wendy Betancourt, MPH². (1) Injury Prevention Branch, Riverside County Department of Public Health, 3900 Sherman Way, Suite D, Riverside, CA 92503, 951-358-7171, swales@co.riverside.ca.us, (2) Epidemiology and Program Evaluation Branch, Riverside County Department of Public Health, 4065 County Circle Drive, Riverside, CA 92503, (3) Riverside County Department of Public Health, 4065 County Circle Drive, Riverside, CA 92503

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death to children five and younger in Riverside County, California. The Riverside County Department of Public Health Injury Prevention Services (RCIPS) created the Submersion Incident Task Force with multidisciplinary partners to examine challenges, barriers, and solutions to reducing the number of childhood drowning and near-drowning incidents in the region. The need for improved and timely data collection was identified as an imperative project component. Hence, the Submersion Incident Report Form (SIRF) Project was created. This presentation will share the process used in the development of this project. A training kit was developed and distributed to all first-response agencies in the County. The kit included the SIRF designed to document incidents of submersion, a training video, and educational tips to avoid drowning. The forms are used by all first responders to submersion incidents and returned to RCIPS. The use of the form significantly reduces the time for RCIPS to receive information on submersion incidents and allows for the timely identification of trends and the ability to address significant issues to not only direct educational efforts within Riverside County but to also guide our county and state lawmakers to develop more effective and consistent codes and regulations. The SIRF Project has also increased public awareness regarding the risks of drowning and the needed preventative steps through educational efforts directed toward parents, daycare providers and pool owners. The SIRF Project has become a model program for other local and statewide first responder and public health agencies.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, the participant in this session will be able to

• Identify the steps taken by Riverside County Department of Public Health Injury Prevention Services to establish the Submersion Incident Task Force with community partners.
• Demonstrate how the partnership improved the timeliness of data collection.
• Describe the accomplishments of the Submersion Incident Report Form Project.

Keywords: Injury Control, Water

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation