Bucket-Related Drownings in the United States, 1984 Through 1990
1 From the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston
2 From the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC.
The purpose of the study is to document the incidence of bucket-related drowning in the United States and to identify factors associated with this type of submersion injury. Analysis of Consumer Product Safety Commission data revealed 160 bucket-related drownings for the years 1984 through 1989, representing a mortality rate of 0.367 per 100 000 persons (younger than 2 years old) per year in the United States. Eighty-eight percent of bucket drownings occurred in toddlers aged 7 to 15 months old. Black children were six times more likely to drown in a bucket than white children of similar age (P < .0001). Male toddlers were at significantly greater risk than females (P < .01). A seasonal trend present in the data indicated that infants are more likely to drown in warmer than in colder months (P < .01). States with the highest rates of bucket drowning were Vermont (2.1/100 000), Arizona (1.5/100 000), and Illinois (1.0/100 000). Through passive and active educational strategies, perhaps this fatal home injury can be prevented.
Key Words: home accidents drowning infant preschool child death certificates
Submitted on September 30, 1991
Accepted on November 26, 1991
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
E. C. Powell and R. R. Tanz Adjusting Our View of Injury Risk: The Burden of Nonfatal Injuries in Infancy Pediatrics, October 1, 2002; 110(4): 792 - 796. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. A. Brenner, A. C. Trumble, G. S. Smith, E. P. Kessler, and M. D. Overpeck Where Children Drown, United States, 1995 Pediatrics, July 1, 2001; 108(1): 85 - 89. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. E. O'Flaherty and P. L. Pirie Prevention of Pediatric Drowning and Near-drowning: A Survey of Members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatrics, February 1, 1997; 99(2): 169 - 174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. D. Siegel, P. Graves, K. Maloney, J. M. Norris, B. N. Calonge, and D. Lezotte Mortality From Intentional and Unintentional Injury Among Infants of Young Mothers in Colorado, 1986 to 1992 Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, October 1, 1996; 150(10): 1077 - 1083. [Abstract] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. A. Brenner, G. S. Smith, and M. D. Overpeck Divergent Trends in Childhood Drowning Rates, 1971 Through 1988 JAMA, May 25, 1994; 271(20): 1606 - 1608. [Abstract] [PDF] |
||||







