Development of the Model for Local Drowning Surveillance System in Northeastern Thailand

There is growing evidence that the drowning fatality rate in Thailand has been increasing, particularly among children. The use of public health surveillance system in accident injury, specifically from drowning, at a community level is limited. This study aimed to develop a surveillance system to reduce risk of drowning in a rural area of Thailand. A 7-step process was used to develop a model for local drowning surveillance system based on community participation. The target population consisted of 182 informants, 562 participating surveillance networks, and 21,234 villagers in two sub-districts of Ubon Ratchathani Province, northeastern Thailand. Two similar sub-districts were chosen as comparison areas. Fifteen months after implementation of the model for local drowning surveillance system (MLDSS) was introduced, improvements were found in all identified risk factors, and the incidence rate ratio of injury in the comparison areas was 23.36 times higher than in the target areas. In the developing world where community bonds remain strong, governments need to encourage local officials, the private sector and the wider community to work together in solving the problem of drowning in their local areas. Such schemes will require national promotion and basic funding.