Back in 2011, the Ministry of Health
for British Columbia looked at what the literature said about healthy ageing.
Here is some of what was in this report which was called Planning for
Healthy Ageing A Literature Review, written by Eleanor Kallio, Senior
Policy Analyst, Research, Knowledge Translation and Library Services Branch, Planning
and Innovation Division, Ministry of Health, Victoria, British Columbia,
published in 2011.
Transportation
Mobility outside the home is
important for many reasons. It enables people to maintain social connections,
participate in the community, and fulfill personal needs, and it supports
independence and choice. An active lifestyle can help the older adult to retain
driving capacity longer since physical frailty and associated health issues commonly
force driving cessation
Addressing driver fitness in
older adults is often sensitive. Often people are dependent on driving and
uninformed about alternatives; consequently, they feel they need to keep
driving. There are safety concerns with older drivers, such as slow reaction
time, driving too slowly, and not paying attention to pedestrians. Older
drivers are better at identifying vision and fatigue problems, as opposed to
cognitive function declines. Factors that may compromise the older adult’s driving
ability include changes in the visual field, reduced hearing ability, decreased
strength, coordination and flexibility, and medication side effects.
It is useful to assess driving
ability in mid-life, and there are self-assessment tests readily available.
Being proactive and informed about alternatives means that changes can be
accommodated and lifestyle minimally disrupted when driving ceases. The older
adult will live about 7 – 10 years beyond their driving ability, so
anticipating future transportation matters.
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