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Older Driver Safety: A Survey of Psychologists’ Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Janet Love  and
Holly Tuokko
Janet Love
Affiliation:
Centre on Aging and Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia
Holly Tuokko*
Affiliation:
Centre on Aging and Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, British Columbia
*
†La correspondance et les demandes de tire-à-part doivent être adressées à : / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Dr. Holly Tuokko, Ph.D., RPsych Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health University of Victoria PO Box 1700, STN CSC Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2 (htuokko@uvic.ca)
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Abstract

Using an online survey, we examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices with respect to older driver safety concerns of clinical psychologists from across Canada who self-identified as working with at least some drivers over 60 years of age. Eighty-four psychologists completed the survey, and many were aware of the issues relevant to older driver safety, although only about half reported that assessing fitness to drive was an important issue in their practice. The majority (75%) reported that they would benefit from education concerning evaluation of fitness to drive. The primary recommendation emerging from this investigation is to increase efforts to inform and educate psychologists about driving-related assessment and regulatory issues in general, and specifically with respect to older adults. As the population ages, it is of growing importance for all health care providers to understand the influence of mental health conditions—including cognitive impairment and dementia—on driving skills.

Résumé

Utilisant un sondage en ligne, nous avons examiné les connaissances, les attitudes et les pratiques en ce qui concerne les problèmes de sécurité des conducteurs âgés détenus par des psychologues cliniciens de tout le Canada qui se sont identifiés comme travaillant avec au moins quelques conducteurs de plus de 60 ans. Quatre-vingt-quatre psychologues ont répondu au sondage, et beaucoup étaient au courant des questions relatives à la sécurité des conducteurs âgés, bien que seulement environ la moitié ont déclaré que l’évaluation de l’aptitude à conduire est une question importante dans leur pratique. La majorité (75%) ont indiqué qu’ils bénéficieraient de l’éducation relative à l’évaluation de l’aptitude à conduire. La principale recommandation qui ressort de cette enquête est qu’il faut des efforts accrus pour sensibiliser les psychologues sur l’évaluation liée à la conduite et les questions réglementaires en général, mais en particulier en ce qui concerne les personnes âgées. En tant que la population vieillit, il est d’une importance croissante que tous les fournisseurs de soins de santé comprennent l’influence des conditions mentales—y compris des troubles cognitifs et de la démence—sur les compétences de conduite.

Keywords

agingattitudesclinical practiceolder driverspsychologistssurveyvieillissementattitudespratiques cliniquesconducteurs âgéspsychologuessondage
Type
Policy and Practice Notes / Notes sur les politiques et les pratiques
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , September 2016 , pp. 393 - 404
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Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2016 

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