Knowledge, attitude, and practice of patients, health care practitioners, and road-traffic safety regulators on patients’ return to driving policy after recovery from musculoskeletal disorders

Abstract

Background: Returning to driving is a major concern for many individuals who had developed the driving skill before injury or disease. This study evaluated the knowledge, attitude, and practice of patients, health care practitioners, and road-traffic safety regulators on patients’ return to driving policy after recovery from musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Methods: The study was a cross-sectional design. Participants were aged 18–80 years and comprised patients recovering from MSDs, health care practitioners, and road-traffic safety regulators. Questionnaires were distributed to patients who were managed for MSDs, health care practitioners involved in the management of MSDs, and road-traffic safety regulators. Questionnaires seeking relevant information on knowledge, attitude, and practice of patients’ return to driving for each category of participants were distributed in this wise: 320 questionnaires to patients, 355 to health care practitioners, and 300 to road-traffic safety regulators. Descriptive statistics of frequency and percentages were used to summarize the data, while χ2 was used to analyze associations among variables at P < 0.05. Results: The health care practitioners’ knowledge of return to driving policy after MSDs was fair (125, 41.8%); however, with a good practice score (259, 86.6%). Both the health care practitioners and road-traffic safety regulators had positive attitudes. The patients exhibited poor knowledge (122, 60.7%), negative attitude (126, 62.4%), and poor practice (160, 79.6%) toward return to driving regulation (P= 0.0001). One hundred seventy-four (58.2%) of the health care practitioner respondents reported determining patients’ return to driving after MSDs, while 137 (68.2%) patient respondents recommended health care practitioners and road-traffic safety regulators collaboration in patient’s return to driving. Conclusions: Return to driving policy after recovery from MSDs is a collaborative effort hinged on health care practitioners’ evaluation and a driving retest by the road-traffic safety regulators. Health care practitioners and road-traffic safety regulators have good to fair knowledge of patients return to driving policy, while patients have poor knowledge and negative attitudes to return to driving.