Analysis of diving accidents in Turkey

Introduction: The increase in the number of divers and dives with the increase in the interest and need for diving shows that more detailed research should be done in this area all over the world. As in the world, there are not enough studies and data on diving accidents in our country. The aim of this study is to investigate in detail the previous diving accidents and their causes, to reveal which situations and conditions triggered these accidents and to contribute to the prevention of their recurrence, with the survey study we created by taking into account similar databases. Material and method: In this thesis, data about diving accidents in Turkey were collected and analyzed by means of an online questionnaire regardless of diving type. The announcement of the study was made through Turkish Underwater Sports Federation's website, e-mail groups, social networking sites and divers who admitted to our outpatient clinic. In the questionnaire form, demographic data of the victims, their diving education level and experience, medical background; the diving equipment used for diving, the times, places, profiles and physical conditions of the dives were questioned. The data obtained in the study were editted in the Microsoft Excel program. Results: The data about 80 diving accidents were obtained as a result of the online retrospective survey. It was determined that 75% of the divers who had a diving accident in our country were male, the average age was 35, and the average BMI value was 25,8 kg/m2. 69,6% of the accident victims were highly experienced divers. 78,5% of the dives were SCUBA dives, 40% of them were made for recreational/sportive activity. 97,5% were made in the sea and 81% from the boat when considering the physical conditions of the dives. It was determined that 27,5% of the divers dived alone and 52,7% of them had an accident in the first dive of the day. Most of the accidents occurred during dives deeper than 21 meters and at the bottom of the dive. Conclusion: In order to support the development of protective measures, it is important to identify which diver groups, diving types or physical conditions have a higher accident risk. If the analyzes can be carried out systematically in the coming years, changes in the demographic data of the divers or the situations that cause the accident will be determined over time and the adequacy of the measures taken to prevent the accidents will be examined.