Characteristics of bathtubs incidents

1975 report findings shows eight revealing facts about bathtub area injuries.

1. The number and seriousness of injuries in a bathtub exceeds shower stalls.

2. Slipping and falling is the most frequent accident in a bathtub which usually happens while entering and exiting the bathtub or while standing up or getting down inside the bathtub.

3. In slips and falls, the injusry is caused by contact on bathtub hard surface specially on the edge of the tub.

4. Most children suffers serious injuries while unsupervised by older adults.

5. Burns is a more seriious form of bathtub injuries rather than slips and falls but happens less frequently.

6. Drowning is far less likely to happen but needs important consideration because of the severity of the injuries.

7.Children, under the age of ten, despite being a minority in terms of demographics leads accidents statistics in the bathtub area. They also account for the most fatalities.

8. Old people do not have a large percentage on bathtub injuries but they suffer more severe injuries. The elderly, it was supposed, do not bathe frequently due to fear of slips and falls according to the authorities.

The Need for Bathtub Safety in the United States

Thirty six (36) years ago the Consumer Product Safety Commission sponsored a program in alleviating the incidence and seriousness of bathtub accidents. Prior to June 4, 1975, over one hundred ten thousand (110,000)   bathtub accidents happened in America every year. To address this problem, the Commission asked the help of Abt Associates Inc., a leading social research firm during that time. Together with assistance of Researchitects, an environmental research specialist, the Commission    and Abt Associates studied the problem closely, identified the most crucial issues and proposed a solution to the problem.

The research proceeded in four phases. First is identifying and prioritizing the most important bathtub injuries causes. Second is categorizing the gathered data from phase 1 according to seventeen accident scenarios which represent commonly associated factors in accidents. Third phase involves providing strategies to prevent this seventeen accident scenarios and providing safety guidelines for newly made bathroom products as well as intervention strategies to currently existing bath products. Included in this phase is an economic analysis of this intervention strategies so that if implemented the social benefits will reach across the widest sector of the society. The fourth and final phase is information dissemination which includes manufacturers, consumers and government.  

In this blog, I wish to present this study conducted in 1975, show the problem that time, the solutions proposed and implemented. Finally I want to assess the degree of accomplishment 36 years after.