Effective action for drowning prevention: An environmental scan of national policies and legislation in Turkiye

Introduction: Drowning is a leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality worldwide, accounting for 15,000 deaths across Europe in 2021. Effective policies and legislation are essential to reduce drowning risk, including in T & uuml;rkiye where 750 people drown annually. However, the extent to which T & uuml;rkiye has implemented such approaches to prevent drowning remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the presence and strength of selected national policies or legislation that improve safety around water. Method: Environmental scan methodology identified national policy and legislation for five World Health Organization-identified priority areas: disaster risk management; legislation for safety of water-transport for vessels; mandating lifejacket wear; swimming pool legislation (including fencing and other safety measures); and alcohol regulations. Keyword searches identified relevant documents that were thematically analyzed and evaluated. Results: From 568 documents identified, 14 unique documents were included in the study (disaster risk management [n = 1], passenger water-transport vessel safety [n = 8], lifejacket legislation [n = 5], and swimming pool safety [n = 2]). No relevant alcohol regulations were found. Strong legislation exists around passenger water-transport vessel safety including mandated safety inspections, lifesaving equipment and emergency plans. Although lifejackets carriage is mandatory, lifejacket wear is not mandated. There is no requirement for fencing around swimming pools however, some pool safety measures are robust (i.e., depth restrictions, certified lifeguards). Significant gaps remain regarding disaster risk management and alcohol regulations. Conclusion: Considering T & uuml;rkiye's drowning burden, strengthening policies and legislation to support drowning prevention, underpinned by an expanded evidence base, is an urgent priority. Practical Applications: This research makes evidence-based recommendations for improving policy and legislative-based approaches to preventing drowning in T & uuml;rkiye including the development of a national drowning registry, mandating lifejacket wear (as opposed to carriage) and national registration of swimming pools (both public and private) to support enforcement of recommended improvements to legislation around swimming pool fencing.