Patient and clinician perspectives of the use of driving simulators for rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury

Abstract

The ability to resume driving is a common goal for individuals who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Driving simulators present a potential avenue for driving rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of clinicians and individuals with lived experience of TBI about the use of modern driving simulators in clinical practice. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with nine clinicians (aged 23–57; 100% women) with 4–36 years of driving rehabilitation experience and eight individuals (aged 18–57; 62.5% women) who were 1–30 years post TBI. Focus groups and interviews were audio recorded and analysed inductively using thematic analysis. Two overarching themes were identified that encompassed participants’ perspectives of the Perceived benefits and Considerations for implementation. Driving simulators were perceived by clinician and patient participants as potentially beneficial for assessing driving ability and readiness to drive, and as an additional rehabilitation tool. Implementation barriers, including cost, safety, ease of use and accessibility were identified, with some participants expressing concerns about usefulness in understanding real-world driving performance and providing false hope about return to driving for people with TBI. More research is needed to evaluate safe application, validity of simulators as an assessment tool and effectiveness.