Centre director says better data and acute care are needed to reverse a decade-long stagnation in drowning deaths
Sweden launched a new national Centre for Drowning Research as the country registers high numbers of deaths and injuries, with researchers now seeking to identify the groups most at risk and improve prevention and emergency care.
The centre, established by the Karolinska Institutet (KI) outside of Stockholm, will gather data and generate evidence across three areas: prevention, acute care and the health consequences that occur after an incident.
“We have not seen any reduction in drowning incidents and fatalities in Sweden for the last decade, which is the main reason for setting up the centre,” said the centre’s director, Andreas Claesson, who is also a paramedic and an associate professor at KI, in an interview with Euractiv.
The earlier downward trend in the number of deaths seems to have stagnated at around 220 deaths per year in the last decade. Also, survivors often suffer from injuries or even brain damage due to the lack of oxygen.
