About this episode

Dr. David Szpilman discusses the preventability of drowning and the importance of terminology and strategies in drowning prevention.

Episode Notes June 4, 2026: Dr David Szpilman: Drowning Is Preventable: What if one of the biggest barriers to preventing drowning isn't a lack of rescue skills, but how we think about drowning itself? Physician, researcher, and drowning prevention pioneer Dr. David Szpilman joins Deep Dive Into Water Safety to discuss the science, data, and lifesaving strategies that have helped reshape drowning prevention around the world and what Hawaiʻi can learn from them. Dr. David Szpilman is a physician, founder of SOBRASA (the Brazilian Lifesaving Society), creator of the internationally recognized Szpilman Drowning Classification System , and one of the world's leading voices in drowning prevention. In this episode of Deep Dive Into Water Safety, Dr. Szpilman discusses why drowning should be viewed as a preventable process rather than an unavoidable accident. He explains the importance of using consistent terminology, including moving away from outdated terms such as 'near drowning,' to improve data collection, treatment, and prevention efforts worldwide. The conversation explores the drowning timeline, the Drowning Chain of Survival, and the critical role ventilation plays in drowning…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr David Szpilman

Topics covered

• drowning prevention
• water safety
• lifesaving strategies
• respiratory arrest
• data collection
• ventilation

Keywords

• drowning
• preventable
• SOBRASA
• Szpilman Drowning Classification System
• ventilation
• lifeguard operations
• Drowning Chain of Survival

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: SOBRASA

Places: Hawaiʻi

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