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"The challenge is not to make her feel old and bad" : Exploring Australian family member experiences of conversations about driving with older adults using an online survey
Veerhuis, Nadine Harada, Theresa Murray, Karina Andrew, Catherine Traynor, Victoria Randle, Melanie
Veerhuis, Nadine
Harada, Theresa
Murray, Karina
Andrew, Catherine
Traynor, Victoria
Randle, Melanie
Abstract
This study explored the experiences of Australian family members having conversations about driving with older adults. An exploratory cross-sectional design using an online survey was carried out with Australian family members of current or retired (former) older drivers. One hundred and fifty-six intergenerational family members across Australia completed the survey. Qualitative content analysis of free-text responses identified that the outcomes of conversations were impacted by a range of environmental and individual factors. The essence of conversations centered around two opposing (positive and negative) discourses. The findings highlighted that an individualized approach to the content of conversations is required due to; driver attributes and actions, variations in the level of support experienced by family members, differences in physical and cognitive declines with age, negative perceptions on the impact of driving retirement, and absence of acceptable alternatives to driving. We recommend using positive discourse and reappraisal techniques when initiating driving conversations with older adults.
Keywords
aged, family conversation, driving cessation, older driver, motor vehicle, communication, decision making
Date
2023
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Applied Gerontology
Book
Volume
42
Issue
8
Page Range
1830-1839
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Allied Health
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY-NC 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© The Author(s) 2023.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).