General practitioners' opinions and attitudes towards medical assessment of fitness to drive of older adults in Ireland

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.