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ABSTRACT
Aim: The aim of this study was to synthesize published qualitative studies to identify older adults' preferences for communication about driving with health care providers.
Background: Health care providers play a key role in addressing driving safety and driving retirement with older adults, but conversations about driving can be difficult. Guides exist for family members and providers, but to date less is known about the types of communication and messages older drivers want from their health care providers.
Design: A qualitative metasynthesis of studies published on or before October 10, 2014, in databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) and grey literature was performed.
Review Methods: Twenty-two published studies representing 518 older adult drivers met the following inclusion criteria: the study (1) was about driving; (2) involved older drivers; (3) was qualitative (rather than quantitative or mixed methods); and (4) contained information on older drivers' perspectives about communication with health care providers.
Results: We identified 5 major themes regarding older adults' communication preferences: (1) driving discussions are emotionally charged; (2) context matters; (3) providers are trusted and viewed as authority figures; (4) communication should occur over a period of time rather than suddenly; and (5) older adults desire agency in the decision to stop driving.
Conclusion: Various stakeholders involved in older driver safety should consider older drivers' perspectives regarding discussions about driving. Health care providers can respect and empower older drivers—and support their family members—through tactful communication about driving safety and mobility transitions during the life course.
Funding
This work was supported by a Paul Beeson Career Development Award Program (The National Institute on Aging; AFAR; The John A. Hartford Foundation; and The Atlantic Philanthropies; grant number K23AG043123) and by Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD) project sponsored by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (Washington, DC); and by NIH/NCATS Colorado CTSA Grant Number UL1 TR001082. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies. No sponsor had any direct involvement in study design, methods, subject recruitment, data collection, analysis, or article preparation.