Drowning risk factors identified and described in the literature among high-risk populations
| Risk factor | Definition | Reference |
| Determinants of health | ||
| Ethnicity | The social group a person belongs to, and either identifies with or is identified with by others, as a result of a mix of cultural and other factors including language, diet, religion, ancestry and physical features traditionally associated with race.9 | 8 9 22 36–42 49 51 52 62 |
| Low socioeconomic status | Usually determined by a government rank based on median household or family income, generally classified as being of low socioeconomic advantage. | 8 23 33 34 36 38 43 45 47 51 |
| Cultural beliefs | Different world views according to traditional customs and knowledge that may influence attitudes, behaviours and perception. Sometimes referred to as superstitions. | 25 33 36 52 62 |
| Age | Age of a person. | 8 22 32 48 62 |
| Migrant | Someone who has moved from one country to live in another country, also referred to as immigrant. | 26 28 |
| Rurality of residential location | Geographical location based on remoteness to major services. | 23 27 28 |
| Cultural/Historical factors | Cultural injustices that occurred in the past that have influenced heath, education, social outcomes of populations today. | 30 31 33 35 |
| Communication barriers/language | Barriers in understanding language and communication between two parties. | 28 40 |
| Attitudes and behaviour | ||
| Alcohol consumption | Consuming an excess amount of alcohol, defined as blood alcohol concentration ≤0.05%. | 28 36 37 39 |
| Reduced supervision | Lack of adult supervision of young children, swimming alone, swimming at unsupervised locations. | 36–38 |
| Risk perception of drowning | Considers the threat of drowning for themselves to be low risk. | 31 36 38 39 41 42 |
| Parental influence | Influence of a parent’s attitudes, knowledge and participation on their child. | 33 43 44 46 |
| Fear of water/drowning | Scared of the water, scared of the possibility of drowning. | 43 45 50 |
| Lack of wearing a lifejacket | Not wearing a lifejacket | 28 39 40 |
| Swimming ability and knowledge | ||
| Poor or no swimming skills | Unable to perform swimming or survival skills to aid survival in an emergency situation. | 24 28 30 32 34–36 40 45 47 48 51 |
| Poor water safety knowledge | Very limited understanding and awareness of water safety practices, making safety decisions and survival skills in regard to drowning prevention. | 26 33 36 41 51 |
| Poor CPR knowledge and skills | Very limited knowledge and understanding of how to administer resuscitation effectively in an emergency situation. | 26 51 |
| Traditional water safety knowledge | Traditional views of water safety and drowning risk based on cultural perspectives. | 24 25 |
CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation.