Diabetes and driving safety: A survey among health care professionals in Saudi Arabia.

AIMS: Diabetes mellitus may impair an individual's fitness to drive. In this study, we explore health care providers' (HCPs) knowledge of problems associated with diabetes and driving, and evaluate the consistency of counseling on driving safety for patients with diabetes.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey-based study among HCPs in Saudi Arabia. We designed a web-based questionnaire to collect demographic data, assess HCPs' knowledge of driving and diabetes and their compliance with driving safety regulations, and meet Diabetes Canada's and the British Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's recommendations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis.

RESULTS

We received 389 responses to the questionnaire. The majority of the respondents were consultants (38.8%), worked in governmental institutes (72.2%), and managed more than 30 patients weekly (34.4%). Only 5.7% of HCPs correctly answered all the driving safety questions. Diabetes educators and general practitioners had the fewest correct answers (p-value 0.03). About 12.6% of HCPs stated that they always counseled their patients about driving safety strategies.

CONCLUSION

HCPs' education in problems associated with diabetes and driving should be improved to ensure quality counseling for their patients.