© Science and Education Publishing DOI:10.12691/rpbs-1-4-2 General Practitioners ’ Perceptions of the New Cognitive Screening Tool for Older Drivers in South Australia

Abstract Background: It is well acknowledged that older drivers with dementia have higher crash rates compared to controls. Doctors in South Australia are required to provide certification of medical fitness to drive for licence renewal of individuals aged 70+ years. Currently, there is no available instrument with adequate predictive validity similar to on-road driving test for older drivers. A new cognitive screening test known as ‘the Snellgrove Maze Task’ (SMT) was developed to assess driving capability in older drivers in South Australia. The aim of the current study was to assess General Practitioners ’ perceptions of the use of Snellgrove Maze Test in practice. Methods: Ninety General practitioners (GPs) from South Australia were invited to participate in a trial SMT on older drivers for driving licence renewal. Fifty-two (57.7%) GPs responded and trialled 119 patients. Ethics approval for the study was granted by the Department of Health Human Research Ethics Committee. Informed consent was obtained from each individual patient. Results: Almost all (96%) respondents strongly and believed that they would use SMT. Both rural and metropolitan GPs were more likely to strongly agree that the tool was useful, and that it was acceptable by older driver patients. This agreement was statistically significant among GPs from rural areas (p=0.0000). Also GPs from across metropolitan and rural areas were more likely to strongly agree that they would use the tool. Thi