A Leading cause of Unintentional Injury Death: Drowning
Drowning risks for Alaska Native people are elevated above the rest of the population in part due to the exposure Alaska Native people have to water hazards. Most Alaska Native communities and summer camps are sited on the shores of rivers, lakes and marine bodies of water for access to subsistence fishing, transportation (wet or frozen) and recreational activities.
From 1999 to 2005:
The Alaska Native drowning rate was 9.2 times the national drowning rate- Regional drowning rates differed, the Bristol Bay area having the highest at 3.7 times the rate for all Alaska Native people
- Alaska Native males were six times as likely to drown as Alaska Native females
- More than half of all Alaska Native drowning victims were between the ages of 10 and 39
What are we doing about it?
ANTHC and Regional Tribal Injury Prevention offices have collaborated on many drowning prevention projects:
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Regional Efforts: Tribal and Injury Prevention Offices maintain Sales Shops, selling float coats and other PFDs for adults and children at reduced cost to the public, promoting boating safety, and generating public safety announcements and advertisements to encourage safety around water.
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White Float Coats: In 2009, the ANTHC Injury Prevention Program, assisted by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard, Mustang Survival and the Department of Natural Resources, focused on northern Alaska for
PFD promotion. In 2010, eight whaling crews from Barrow, Wales, and Wainwright participated in a pilot test of the float coats. In 2011, with donations from oil companies, two crews from each of the
eight remaining AEWC communities were also outfitted with white floatcoats. Four crews were also supplied with white float pants, protective gear asked about by several crewmembers during the first year. And in 2011. a few white float coats were made publicly available for purchase by two vendors: Eagle Enterprises in Anchorage, and the Maniilaq Injury Prevention Sales Shop in Kotzebue.
Response to the float coats has been positive. In 2010, two of the communities in the pilot study independently began seeking funding to outfit all participating in whale hunting in their community with float coats in the same style as those used on the pilot test.
- Kids Don't Float Program: Injury Prevention offices work with the State Health Department to promote the program and increase the number of free loaner stations at sites and communities where children are exposed to water around the state.
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