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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Older drivers, driving practices and health issues | | Author(s) | Desmond O'Neill, Irene Bruce, Michael Kirby |
| Journal title | Clinical Gerontologist, vol 22, no 1, 2000 |
| Pages | pp 47-54 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Driving capability ; Health [elderly] ; Mobility ; Transport services ; Living in the community ; Social surveys ; Ireland. |
| Annotation | The impact of health on driving cessation and mobility of 218 Irish over 65s living at home from two general practices was assessed with psychometric and mental state testing, a medical and drug history, and a transport use history. 112 had never driven, 38 had stopped driving, and 68 were current drivers. The main reasons for giving up driving were health (29%) and expense (34%). Apart from hypertension, there was a low prevalence of self-reported target illnesses in the driving population, but 14 of the 68 current drivers were on psychoactive medications. Ex-drivers were more likely to use a bus at least three times a week than current drivers, but significantly less used it daily compared to those who had never driven. The study confirms that health issues have a marked impact on continued driving in older people. One in five of the older drivers use psychoactive medications; and ex-drivers do not seem to make as much use of public transport as those who have never driven. This may represent a conditioning to the independence, security and comfort afforded by the car, or may reflect a higher degree of morbidity in ex-drivers. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-010314204 A |
| Classmark | OPF: CC: C4: O: K4: 3F: 763 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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