Driving after stroke: Driving exposure, advice, and evaluations☆☆☆

Abstract 

Objective: Little is known about the extent to which stroke survivors return to driving and the advice and/or evaluations they receive about driving. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of driving after stroke and to determine whether stroke survivors receive advice and evaluation about driving.

Design: A convenience sample of stroke survivors was surveyed regarding driving status following stroke, driving exposure, advice received about driving, and evaluation of driving performance.

Participants: Two hundred ninety stroke survivors who were between 3 months to 6 years poststroke.

Results: Thirty percent of stroke survivors who drove before the stroke resumed driving after the stroke. Stroke survivors are often poorly informed by health care professionals about driving, with 48% reporting that they did not receive advice about driving and 87% reporting that they did not receive any type of driving evaluation. Almost one third of poststroke drivers had high exposure, driving 6 to 7 days per week and/or 100 to 200 miles per week.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that many stroke survivors are making decisions about their driving capabilities without professional advice and/or evaluation. The results also suggest that rehabilitation professionals need to devote more attention and resources to driving issues when working with stroke survivors and their families.

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