Road safety of older drivers and the nursing profession : a scoping review

Background: Population aging will lead to an increase in the number of older drivers. The aging process can affect older adults’ driving ability. Nurses can play a major role in identifying potentially at-risk drivers and providing guidance about driving safety and cessation, but their role remains somewhat unknown. Objective: This scoping review aims to present the scientific literature in relation to the nursing profession in the field of road safety. Design: CINAHL and PubMed databases were used to identify quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods or clinical practice guideline articles that referred to the role of nurses in older people’s road safety and were published in English or French languages between January 1990 and August 2020. Ten (10) articles met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Results: Analysis of included articles revealed one main theme: Nurses’ and NPs’ roles in the mobility continuum. Results showed that nurses and nurse practitioners (NPs) often see older drivers in their clinical practice and that they have the competencies to screen and assess their fitness to drive. They are well-positioned to discuss age-related changes, fitness to drive and a driving retirement plan with their older patients, but they are not confident when addressing this issue. Few older adults have discussed their driving abilities with healthcare professionals, but they would be willing to discuss this if the subject were brought up. Conclusions: This scoping review highlighted the paucity of research addressing the role of the nurse in road safety. More research is needed to adequately document this role