Attitudes of Primary Care Physicians Toward Older Drivers: A Finnish-Swedish Comparison

Abstract

Finnish and Swedish general practitioners'(GPs) activities, knowledge, and attitudes related to aging and driving were compared using a mail survey to evaluate the effects of the two countries' different driver licensing policies. The hypothesis was that the existence of an obligatory medical screening system in Finland would make the Finnish GPs more active or knowledgeable concerning aging and driving than their Swedish colleagues with no experience of such a system. The survey was sent to a random sample of registered GPs who worked in primary health care centers in Sweden (n = 1,500) and in Finland (n = 1,527); 1,682 respondents completed the form and were included in final analysis. The results did not support the hypothesis: The Swedish GPs reported more activities than did their Finnish colleagues. The level of knowledge was similar in both countries, but the Finnish GPs had higher confidence in their diagnostic competence and more restrictive attitudes than did the Swedish GPs. The existence of an obligatory medical screening system hence did not make the Finnish GPs more active or knowledgeable concerning aging and driving compared to their Swedish colleagues. In contrast, it may contribute to the Finnish GPs' unrealistic confidence in their own assessment skills and in the adequacy of the present screening system in Finland.