{ "abstract": "Introduction Drowning remains a substantial global health challenge, and research in this area predominantly relies on observational study designs due to ethical, practical and administrative limitations. Although the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement is available, adherence within the drowning research community has been inconsistent and frequently incomplete. Consequently, essential methodological components and drowning-specific factors are often under-reported or inconsistently described, impeding quality, reproducibility, critical appraisal and evidence synthesis.Aim This protocol outlines the development of an extension to the STROBE statement, specifically for reporting observational studies in drowning epidemiology (STROBE-D). The proposed extension aims to provide structured guidance for authors, reviewers and editors, thereby enhancing the clarity, transparency and comparability of reporting practices.Methods and analysis The development of the STROBE-D statement will follow established recommendations and methodological frameworks for guideline creation. The process will include a scoping review and initial draft preparation, a two-round modified Delphi process using surveys with multidisciplinary and international expert participation, an expert consensus meeting to finalise the content and manuscript, public comment with interest-holder involvement and a final revision before submission for peer review.Ethics and dissemination The Committee on Health Research Ethics in the Region Zealand of Denmark waived the need for ethical approval as this is a consensus study (EMN-2025-09099). Findings will be disseminated through open access peer-reviewed publications, targeted communication through professional networks, conferences and social media platforms. The STROBE-D statement will serve as an extension to the STROBE statement, specifically tailored to observational studies in drowning epidemiology to improve consistency and transparency. Simultaneous publications of the original STROBE-D statement and the accompanying explanation and elaboration paper will be pursued in line with existing best practices.", "authors": [ { "affiliations": [ "TrygFonden’s Drowning Research Unit, Prehospital Centre Region Zealand, Naestved, Denmark", "Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark", "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA" ], "name": "Kasper Bitzer" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia", "Discipline of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville City, Queensland, Australia" ], "name": "Amy E Peden" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "School of Sport, Health and Exercise Science, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK" ], "name": "Joost Bierens" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "Brazilian Life Saving Society (SOBRASA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil" ], "name": "David Szpilman" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "EPIUnit, Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal" ], "name": "Ana Catarina Queiroga" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "REMOSS Research Group, Cidega Institute for Research in Sport Sciences, Faculty of Education and Sport Sciences, University of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain" ], "name": "Roberto Barcala-Furelos" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA" ], "name": "Jonathon Webber" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "Extreme Environments Laboratory, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK" ], "name": "Michael Tipton" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA" ], "name": "Justin Sempsrott" }, { "affiliations": [ "Injury Division, The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia" ], "name": "Jagnoor Jagnoor" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Poole, UK", "Leeds Trinity University, Horsforth, UK" ], "name": "Tom Mecrow" }, { "affiliations": [ "Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda" ], "name": "Frederick Oporia" }, { "affiliations": [ "Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa" ], "name": "Colleen Saunders" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia", "Royal Life Saving Society, Broadway, New South Wales, Australia" ], "name": "William Koon" }, { "affiliations": [ "Centre for Injury Policy and Prevention Research, Hanoi University of Public Health, Hanoi, Viet Nam" ], "name": "Cuong Pham" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "Injury Division, The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia", "Royal Life Saving Society, Broadway, New South Wales, Australia" ], "name": "Justin-Paul Scarr" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "Drowning Prevention Research Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada" ], "name": "Tessa Clemens" }, { "affiliations": [ "Drowning Prevention Research Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada", "Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada", "Royal Life Saving Society Commonwealth, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada" ], "name": "Stephen Beerman" }, { "affiliations": [ "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "Discipline of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville City, Queensland, Australia" ], "name": "Richard Franklin" }, { "affiliations": [ "The BMJ, London, UK", "Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA" ], "name": "Timothy Feeney" }, { "affiliations": [ "Cochrane Germany, Cochrane Germany Foundation, Freiburg, Germany" ], "name": "Erik von Elm" }, { "affiliations": [ "TrygFonden’s Drowning Research Unit, Prehospital Centre Region Zealand, Naestved, Denmark", "International Drowning Researchers’ Alliance (IDRA), Kuna, Idaho, USA", "Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark" ], "name": "Niklas Breindahl" } ], "title": "Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in drowning epidemiology (STROBE-D): a protocol for an extension to the STROBE statement", "uid": "bc2bf70d-66a1-5fc9-be8a-3b26e86da45b" }