Abstract
Introduction: Because of the saliency of driving, loss of driving privileges often is very difficult for individuals with a dementia and an ongoing and emotional stressor for caregivers/other family members. Despite this loss, few community-based interventions exist to assist individuals with a dementia and their family members, with the driving cessation process.
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of theoretical group interventions associated with loss of driving privileges for individuals with dementia and their primary caregivers.
Methods: A total of 74 individuals participated: 44 individuals with dementia and 30 caregivers. Approximately half the participants attended driving cessation support groups designed to specifically assist with the driving issue; the remaining participants attended traditional support groups. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected.
Results: The results reported here focus on the efficacy of the groups for individuals with dementia and reveal that theoretical driving cessation support groups are effective in ameliorating many of the negative consequences associated with loss of driving privileges for those with a progressive dementia.