Thesis abstract:

«p»«span style="color:black"»Driving is an important functional task, key to independence and a sense of self-worth, but drivers with cognitive impairment may put themselves and others at risk if allowed to continue driving. In Australia, the state and territory-based driver licencing authorities (DLA) are the ultimate decision makers regarding right to hold a driver’s licence. In many of the cases, where the driver has cognitive impairment, the DLA base their decision on recommendations received either from a medical practitioner and/or from an off and on-road occupational therapy driving assessment. «/span»«/p» «p» «/p» «p»«span style="color:black"»Anecdotally there are complaints about the difficulty in arranging an occupational therapy on-road assessment due to long waiting lists, the non-availability of occupational therapists with driving qualifications, or the expense of the assessment. How do occupational therapy driving assessors perceive the issues around their practice? How do they work with medical professionals and licencing authorities to provide accurate recommendations regarding ability to drive for those clients with cognitive impairment? And do they have ideas of how their practice and access can be improved? «/span»«/p»