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Return-to-driving expectations following mild traumatic brain injury
Megan H W Preece1, Gina M Geffen, Mark S Horswill
1School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Australia. megan.preece@griffithuni.edu.au
Aim:
Although individuals recovering from mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) could pose a risk to road safety, little is known about their intentions regarding return-to-driving. Reported are the expectations of a sample of emergency department patients with MTBI regarding their recovery and return-to-driving.
Method:
Eighty-one patients with MTBI were recruited from an emergency department. Participants completed an 11-item questionnaire measuring expectations regarding recovery from injury; five of the items addressed return-to-driving.
Results:
Only 48% of the sample intended to reduce their driving following their injury. However, those that did intend to reduce their driving nominated a mean duration of 16.59 days (SD = 31.68) of reduced exposure. A logistic regression found that previous head injury experience and an interaction between pain and previous head injury experience predicted intentions to reduce driving. Similarly, a multiple regression revealed that pain level contributed significantly to the variance in time estimates of return-to-driving.
Conclusion:
The finding that half the individuals recovering from MTBI do not intend to moderate their driving exposure post-injury is cause for concern, as another study has shown that driving performance is compromised in this group immediately after injury.
