NIH/NICHD to Prioritize Drowning Research

NIH is spotlighting drowning prevention as a key research area, inviting new proposals via broad funding opportunities (not a specific grant announcement). The emphasis is on addressing a dire and often overlooked public health issue—drowning is the leading cause of death for U.S. children aged 1–4, and the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among 5–14 year-olds.

Key Problems Highlighted:

• Survivors of drowning often suffer severe consequences—neurologic damage and disability.
• Risk varies by individual (e.g. existing medical conditions like seizures or autism), setting (types of water bodies, access to pools, natural water, etc.), behavior (e.g. supervision, alcohol use), and context (flood disasters).

Priority Research Domains NIH Wants to Support:

1. Trends & Interventions: Understanding how drowning rates are changing, what drives those trends, and designing interventions to match.
2. Swim Instruction & Water Competency: What components of water safety training work best, and when/how to deliver them.
3. Drowning Chain of Survival: Strengthening how communities adopt, sustain, and scale up the steps that can save lives—rescue, emergency response, etc.
4. Access & Implementation Gaps: Addressing unjust gaps in who gets access to prevention tools and strategies, and figuring out how to put proven interventions into practice at scale.

NIH Institutes & Offices Involved:

• The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is particularly interested in work that:
  • analyzes risk factors,
  • evaluates swim/instruction / water competency,
  • integrates interventions into schools or communities, and
  • measures outcomes and costs.

• The Office of Disease Prevention (ODP) also backs prevention efforts, especially among populations with disproportionate drowning risk.

Find out more at https://grants.nih.gov/funding/find-a-fit-for-your-research/highlighted-topics/9