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Driving behaviour in people with chronic pain - perspective of people with chronic pain and health professionals

Publisher
Pain Road safety Australia
Resources
Description

Being able to drive is important, as driving cessation is associated with less independence, reduced social integration, lower levels of community participation and poorer quality of life. However, driving is a complex task which requires both the ability to rapidly identify potential hazards and appropriately react to driving situations to avoid crashing. To our knowledge, there is a lack of studies investigating the impact of chronic pain on driving behaviour. This study investigates the effect of chronic pain on driving behaviour using a mixed-method design involving (i) qualitative semi-structured interviews drawing upon the lived experience of individuals with chronic pain, as well as the knowledge of health professionals as subject matter experts, and (ii) quantitative cross-sectional component comparing driving behaviour between chronic pain and non-chronic pain (healthy) participant groups in Australia. Emerging themes from the qualitative component highlight the need for clearer guidelines and educational materials on the impact of chronic pain on an individual's ability to drive. In addition, self-regulation strategies and current barriers and enablers for improving driving were identified from the perspective of individuals with chronic pain, as well as Australian health professionals. In the quantitative component, there was no significant difference observed in hazard perception response time test, self-reported attention-related error and self-reported driving behaviour; i.e. driving errors, ordinary violations and aggressive violation between participants were similar in the chronic pain group and the non-chronic pain control group. However, there were significant differences between the participant groups in the scores of driving lapses, mental demand, physical demand and frustration levels of the driving task. Overall, our findings contribute to the understanding of current driving behaviours, the challenges for people experiencing chronic pain, and the relationship between chronic pain and driving. Lastly, this report proposes recommendations and strategies to improve safe driving among people with chronic pain.

Publication Details
ISBN:
978-0-9945666-7-6
License type:
All Rights Reserved
Access Rights Type:
open