Medical care-seeking behaviours among drowning casualties: Results from a national survey conducted in Bangladesh

OBJECTIVE: Despite the high magnitude of drowning, medical care-seeking behaviours among drowning casualties remain unexplored in Bangladesh. This study aimed to explore this behaviour among drowning casualties in Bangladesh. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from 299,216 rural and urban residents. RESULTS: From the survey, we found 191 drowning cases: 40.84% (n = 78) were fatal and 59.16% (n = 113) were non-fatal. Among the drowning cases, 71.2% (n = 136) were referred to healthcare providers, while 62.8% (n = 120) received medical care from different health service providers. Further analysis showed that 66.6% (n = 116) of children and 26.6% (n = 4) of adults sought healthcare. As many as 78.9% (n = 120/152) of rural residents sought healthcare, as compared to 61.5% (n = 24/39) of urban residents. Among all drowning casualties, 31.7% (n = 38) received healthcare from a qualified healthcare provider, whereas 68.3% (n = 82) received it from non-qual]ified healthcare providers. About 59 (49%) casualties received care from a pharmacy and 34 (28%) from a recognised hospital. The hospital admission rate for drowning was 11.7%. About 14 (11.7%) drowning casualties were brought to hospitals in motorised or non-motorised vehicles. As many as 97 (80.8%) patients sought healthcare attention and managed to survive. CONCLUSION: A significant number of drowning casualties sought medical care from qualified and non-qualified healthcare providers. In Bangladesh, it is necessary to develop guidelines for providing medical care for drowning casualties.