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Older people's attitudes towards resuming driving in the first four months post‐stroke
Author(s) -
McNamara Annabel,
George Stacey,
Ratcliffe Julie,
Walker Ruth
Publication year - 2015
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.12135
Subject(s) - stroke (engine) , rehabilitation , stroke recovery , medicine , physical therapy , confidence interval , psychology , independence (probability theory) , physical medicine and rehabilitation , engineering , mechanical engineering , statistics , mathematics
Aim Little is known about how older people recovering from stroke perceive their return to driving, particularly in the early stages of recovery when they may receive driving information. Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 participants (52% female, mean age 74.5 years) within the first 16 weeks post‐stroke, while inpatients in either acute or rehabilitation stroke wards. Interview data were analysed using content analysis. Results Three main themes emerged: ‘driving as independence’, ‘emphasis on physical recovery’, and ‘limits on driving pre‐stroke’. Conclusions For the most part, driving was not a key consideration for participants during this phase of their recovery. Physical restrictions and confidence were seen as the main deterrent to driving post‐stroke; however, this varied according to gender. Driving information is generally not retained in the first four weeks of recovery post‐stroke. This has implications for the content and timing of driving information given post‐stroke.