Authors: Catherine Palmer, Glen Dollman, Carolyn Dun, Erin Finch, Janene Strahan & Megan Turville
Year: 2023
Event: 2023 The MHS conference - Adelaide
Subject: Driving and mental health: Moving beyond risk and legislation to support and self-regulation
Type of resource: Conference Presentations and Papers
Abstract: Driving is an important skill for many people who experience a mental health condition, however driver safety is rarely raised with consumers during their care in public mental health settings. The occupational therapy led Drive Safe Program have been working to change workforce practice to promote safe driving with consumers. Limited resources, however, have meant that the program has focused on risk and licencing regulations to try and engage clinicians in addressing driver safety with consumers. Until recently lived experience perspectives were not consistently involved in the design and implementation of strategies.
With foundation work completed, a gap in knowledge and perspectives from people with lived experience was recognised. Dedicated funds have enabled expansion of the team to include lived experience staff, to address this gap. The focus of the program now includes more person-centred and recovery-oriented approaches, as well as trying to address prevention and education for all consumers to self-regulate their driving and support driving related goals.
Lived experience perspectives have ensured that humanity and human rights have come to the fore in strategies including guidelines, training, research and collaboration with lived experience advisory groups. These perspectives are supporting strategies directly targeting consumers and carers, not just clinicians.
Learning Objective
This presentation will describe how embedding lived experience staff in program delivery actively supports humanity and human rights by prioritising person centred, recovery focused approaches in the promotion of safe driving for consumers and how clinicians support consumers with safe driving.
References
Dun, C., Swan, J., Strahan, J., Finch, E., Palmer, C., Dollman, G., & Turville, M. (2023) (in press). Driving guidelines for public mental health clinicians to assist consumers with safe driving Version 4. Melbourne, Victoria: Northern Health
Austroads (2022). Assessing fitness to drive for commercial and private vehicle drivers: Medical standards for licensing and clinical management guidelines. 6th Edition. Sydney: Austroads Ltd. https://austroads.com.au/publications/assessing-fitness-to-drive/ap-g56
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