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Rapoport MJ, Weegar K, Kadulina Y, Bédard M, Carr D, Charlton JL, Dow J, Gillespie IA, Hawley CA, Koppel S, McCullagh S, Molnar F, Murie-Fernández M, Naglie G, O'Neill D, Shortt S, Simpson C, Tuokko HA, Vrkljan BH, Marshall S. An international study of the quality of national-level guidelines on driving with medical illness. QJM 2015; 108:859-69. [PMID: 25660605 PMCID: PMC4620729 DOI: 10.1093/qjmed/hcv038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Medical illnesses are associated with a modest increase in crash risk, although many individuals with acute or chronic conditions may remain safe to drive, or pose only temporary risks. Despite the extensive use of national guidelines about driving with medical illness, the quality of these guidelines has not been formally appraised. AIM To systematically evaluate the quality of selected national guidelines about driving with medical illness. DESIGN A literature search of bibliographic databases and Internet resources was conducted to identify the guidelines, each of which was formally appraised. METHODS Eighteen physicians or researchers from Canada, Australia, Ireland, USA and UK appraised nine national guidelines, applying the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument. RESULTS Relative strengths were found in AGREE II scores for the domains of scope and purpose, stakeholder involvement and clarity of presentation. However, all guidelines were given low ratings on rigour of development, applicability and documentation of editorial independence. Overall quality ratings ranged from 2.25 to 5.00 out of 7.00, with modifications recommended for 7 of the guidelines. Intra-class coefficients demonstrated fair to excellent appraiser agreement (0.57-0.79). CONCLUSIONS This study represents the first systematic evaluation of national-level guidelines for determining medical fitness to drive. There is substantive variability in the quality of these guidelines, and rigour of development was a relative weakness. There is a need for rigorous, empirically derived guidance for physicians and licensing authorities when assessing driving in the medically ill.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Rapoport
- From the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2J7, Canada
| | - K Weegar
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M2, Canada
| | - Y Kadulina
- University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
| | - M Bédard
- Centre for Research on Driving, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada, St. Joseph's Care Group, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5G7, Canada
| | - D Carr
- Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
| | - J L Charlton
- Monash University Accident Research Centre, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - J Dow
- Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, Québec, QC G1K 8J6, Canada
| | - I A Gillespie
- British Columbia Medical Association, Vancouver, BC V6J 5A4, Canada
| | - C A Hawley
- University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - S Koppel
- Monash University Accident Research Centre, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - S McCullagh
- Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, ON L8L 2X2, Canada, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 1C7, Canada
| | - F Molnar
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M2, Canada, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
| | | | - G Naglie
- University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2J7, Canada, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
| | - D O'Neill
- Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, 2, Ireland,
| | - S Shortt
- Canadian Medical Association, Ottawa, ON K1G 5W8, Canada
| | - C Simpson
- Kingston General Hospital, Kingston, ON K7L 2V7, Canada, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada and
| | - H A Tuokko
- University of Victoria, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - B H Vrkljan
- McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 1C7, Canada
| | - S Marshall
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M2, Canada, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
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Abstract
The present study examined the relations among levels of cognitive functioning, executive dysfunction, and awareness of financial management capabilities among a sample of 42 community-dwelling persons with dementia. Financial tasks on the Measure of Awareness of Financial Skills (MAFS) were dichotomized as simple or complex based on Piaget's operational levels of childhood cognitive development. Severity of global cognitive impairment and executive dysfunction were significantly related to awareness of financial abilities as measured by informant-participant discrepancy scores on the MAFS. For persons with mild and moderate/severe dementia, and persons with and without executive dysfunction, proportions of awareness within simple and complex financial task categories were tabulated. Significantly less awareness of financial abilities occurred on complex compared with simple tasks. Individuals with mild dementia were significantly less aware of abilities on complex items, whereas persons with moderate/severe dementia were less aware of abilities, regardless of task complexity. Similar patterns of awareness were observed for individuals with and without executive dysfunction. These findings support literature suggesting that deficits associated with dementia first occur for complex cognitive tasks involving inductive reasoning or decision-making in novel situations, and identify where loss of function in the financial domain may first be expected.
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Abstract
This paper examines the psychometric properties of a three-part (participant, informant, and performance) Measure for assessing Awareness of Financial Skills (MAFS). The MAFS was administered to 10 seniors with dementia and 25 well-functioning seniors, and their informants. Measures of cognitive functioning, social desirability, neuroticism, and perceived control were administered to each participant to allow for an assessment of validity. Internal consistency estimates for the participant and informant questionnaires were found to be 0.92 and 0.97, respectively. Convergent validity analysis indicated that performance on this measure was related to level of cognitive functioning, with higher level of unawareness associated with decreased cognitive ability. Discriminant validity analysis showed that performance on this measure was not related to social desirability or neuroticism. This study provides evidence that the MAFS is a reliable and valid tool for assessing awareness of financial skills in older adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Cramer
- University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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