Premium
General practitioners' opinions and attitudes towards medical assessment of fitness to drive of older adults in Ireland
Author(s) -
Omer Sami,
Dolan Catherine,
Dimitrov Borislav D,
Langan Camilla,
McCarthy Geraldine
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12045
Subject(s) - irish , opinion survey , medicine , global positioning system , population , family medicine , psychology , medical education , applied psychology , environmental health , public relations , political science , engineering , opinion leadership , telecommunications , philosophy , linguistics
Objective The study sought to assess opinions and attitudes of general practitioners ( GP s) in I reland towards fitness to drive ( FTD ) assessment in people older than 65 years old as well as to gather information on current assessment practices. Method A postal‐based cross‐sectional survey was carried out with 603 GP practices randomly selected using the I rish C ollege of G eneral P ractitioners database.Results Response rate was 42.6%. The prevalence of GP s not confident in assessing FTD was less than 15% with 81% reporting the need for more education on assessing FTD , and 82% identifying that mandatory reporting of unsafe drivers posed a conflict of interest. Only 37% of GP s always/often used the I rish R oad S afety A uthority handbook when assessing FTD with 14% not aware of its existence. Of responders, 89% were of the opinion that a clinical assessment tool would be of benefit in assessing FTD . Conclusion Our study highlights the need for education and training for I rish GP s on FTD assessment in the older people patient population.