Epidemiology of Recreational Fatalities at Lake Mead National Recreation Area: A Five Year Analysis

The purpose of this study was to analyze visitor injury data from 2005-2010. This study was guided by accident causation theories, namely Heinrich's Domino Theory and Human Factors Theory. The retrospective data used for this study were retrieved from Incident Reports between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2010. The data were processed through the Visitor Injury Data System (VIDS). Activity, cause of injury, nature of injury classifications within VIDS are based on definitions used by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention's Web- based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System(WISQUARS)for fatal and non-fatal incidents. WISQUARS is also adapted for the specific use of categorizing the unique outdoor and recreational activities relevant to visitors' experiences in national parks. Descriptive analyses were performed using frequencies and cross-tabulations. A series of correlational analyses were conducted to examine the association between cause of fatality, and age group, alcohol use, usage of personal floating devices (PFDs), air temperature, and wind speed. Male visitors accounted for most (84.17 %) of the fatalities. The mean age of death was 43 years(SD=20.28). Drowning incidents were more likely to occur to victims within the age group of 25-44, and primarily Hispanics. Rates of motor vehicle accidents and natural causes were common among Caucasians in the age group of 45 and above.The incidence rates ranged between a low 2.3 recreational visitors per million in 2007 to a high of 4.3 in 2010. Water-based victims (72%) were less likely to use PFDs when participating in water-based recreational activities.