Immigrants and their children face a higher risk of drowning
Immigrants are are more likely to drown in Massachusetts than the general population and their children are at even higher risk, The Boston Globe reports.
A Globe review of death records from 1999 to 2013 found 124 of the 662 drowning victims during that time were immigrants. The paper also found that children of immigrants were 64 percent more likely to drown than children from non-immigrant families.
“People born outside of the U.S. are definitely overrepresented in the drowning deaths,” Carlene Pavlos, director of the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, told the Globe. “The department is really committed to ending health inequities. Drowning is one place where we are seeing those.”
Water-safety experts told the paper immigrants face challenges including language barriers and lack of access to swimming lessons.
Read the full report at the Globe.
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