OBJECTIVE:
to describe the epidemiological profile and the frequency of drowning on beaches in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, covered by the Salvador Maritime Rescue Service (Salvamar) in 2012.
METHODS:
the described data were obtained from the database of Salvamar on drowning accidents.
RESULTS:
733 people drowned in the period; victims were mostly male (65.5%), adolescents (40.8%), students (67.7 %) and inhabitants of Salvador (69.4%). Mean age was 22.2 years. Almost all cases were not fatal (98.9%) and the majority happened between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (89.5%) in January (20.9%) and February (16.4%).
CONCLUSION:
this study indicated that Salvador had a high frequency of non-fatal drowning among males, youth and students. Summer time drowning prevention actions. should be focused on these vulnerable subgroups.
Drowning; Health Profile; Epidemiology, Descriptive
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