The objective of this study was to assess current attitudes, practices, and knowledge of Canadian psychiatrists regarding fitness to drive in individuals with mental illness and to explore variations according to provincial legislation. The authris carried out a national cross-sectional survey, using a random sample of psychiatrists. They used a mail survey to collect data. In total, 248 psychiatrists participated; the response rate was 54.2% on traced subjects. The majority (64.1%) reported that they strongly agreed or agreed that addressing patients' fitness to drive is an important issue. However, only 18.0% of respondents were always aware of whether their patients were active drivers. One-fourth strongly agreed or agreed that they were confident in their ability to evaluate fitness to drive. In discretionary provinces, 29.3% of psychiatrists reported not knowing their provincial legislation, as did 14.6% of psychiatrists in mandatory provinces; of those responding, 54.0% from discretionary provinces and 2.8% from mandatory provinces gave incorrect answers. Psychiatrists' responses demonstrate a broad range of attitudes, practices, and knowledge. There appears to be a large gap between what is expected of psychiatrists and their readiness and self-perceived ability to make informed clinical decisions related to driving safety. It is concluded that there is a clear need for education and guidelines to assist psychiatrists in decision making about driving fitness. (Author/publisher)
Abstract