Medicines and driving: evaluation of training and software support for patient counselling by pharmacists

Background : The consumption of some psychotropic medicines has a negative effect on the fitness to drive. Pharmacists are expected to give useful advice to patients on their participation in traffic. However, almost no information is available on this topic. Objective : To assess the effect of training and implementation of new dispensing guidelines with regard to driving-impairing medicines, in two types of dispensing support tools. User acceptance was measured as well as the effect on pharmacists' attitudes & awareness, self-reported behaviour and knowledge. Setting Pharmacists from East Flanders in Belgium. Methods : Two intervention groups and a control group participated. The intervention groups followed a training and were provided with a dispensing support tool containing information on the effect of medicines on driving ability, which was either stand-alone (USB stick) or integrated into the daily used software (ViaNova). The three groups filled out a questionnaire prior to and after the intervention period. Main outcome measure : Answers to a pre/post-questionnaire on attitudes and awareness, self-reported behaviour, knowledge and user acceptance. Results : Many pharmacists were already strongly interested in the topic at the beginning of the study. Positive changes in attitude, self-reported behaviour and knowledge were measured mostly in the group of pharmacists for which the information was integrated in their daily used software. These pharmacists asked significantly more about the patients' driving experience, informed them more about driving-related risk and gave more detailed information on impairing effects of medicines. The knowledge of the participating pharmacists on the topic 'medicines and driving' remained generally low. The participants acknowledge the importance of being aware of the topic medicines and driving but they report a lack of information or education. They strongly prefer a tool that integrates the information in their daily used software. Conclusion : Dispensing support tools with information on the potential impairing effect of a medicine on the fitness to drive increases awareness, reported risk communication behaviour as well as knowledge of pharmacists on this topic. Computerised dispensing support tools are most effective when the information is integrated into the daily used dispensing software

Guest Editorial. The ESRA initiative: Towards global monitoring and analysis of road safety performanc

1. Road safety performance indicators 2. ESRA initiative 3. Position of ESRA2 in IATSS 4. Importance of the results presented in this special feature 5. Closing remark

The ESRA initiative: global approach to monitor driving under influence of alcohol and drugs across 48 countries

peer reviewedIntroduction and aims. ESRA (E-Survey of Road users’ Attitudes) is a joint initiative of road safety institutes and research centres from all over the world. The aim is to collect and analyse comparable data on road safety performance, in particular road safety culture and behaviour of road users. The ESRA data are used as a basis for a large set of road safety indicators. These provide scientific evidence for policy making at national and international levels. The ESRA initiative is managed by the ESRA Steering Group, a consortium currently consisting of ten organisations across the world and led by Vias institute (Belgium). Already two editions of ESRA have taken place (ESRA2, ESRA2). In total 36 partners from 60 countries have already participated in this initiative. The objective of this presentation is to give an overview of the updated results on driving under influence, covering 48 countries (ESRA2). Focus is on self-reported driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs and medicines and different road user types. More details on related behaviour believes will be presented in an other presentation at this conference. Method. ESRA2 data were collected through online panel surveys (2018-2020), using a representative sample of the national adult populations in each participating country. A jointly developed questionnaire was translated into 62 national language versions. The themes covered include self-reported behaviour, attitudes and opinions on unsafe behaviour in traffic, enforcement experiences and support for policy measures. The survey addresses different road safety topics and targets not only car drivers but also moped riders and motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians. Results and Discussion. The results from ESRA2 (N= 45,114) show that the regional means for car drivers reporting drink-driving in the last month ranged from 11% (America) to 19% (Asia/Oceania), for drug-driving from 5% (Europe) to 20% (Asia/Oceania) and for driving after taking medication that may affect the driving ability from 15% (America) to 26% (Asia/Oceania). The national results differ substantially, ranging from 4-31% for alcohol, 6-30% for drugs, and 2-33% for medication. In contrast, the proportion of two-wheeled vehicle users reporting drink-driving differs little between regions: from 18% in Africa to 21% in America among moped and motorcyclists, and from 15% in America to 19% in Asia/Oceania among cyclists. Conclusion. There are notable disparities in self-reported impaired car driving between the countries. The national differences are smaller for self-reported impaired riding of two-wheeled vehicles. ESRA aims at monitoring these differences over time. The next edition (ESRA3) will be launched in spring 2023. It is still possible to join ESRA3 (deadline 20th October, 2022). Contact us if this interests you: [email protected]

Socio-cognitive indicators in road safety monitoring - The ESRA project

ESR

Special Session: Monitoring Road Safety Attitudes & Performance the ESRA Approach

This session will provide insights on the ESRA approach of monitoring road safety attitudes and safety performance, on a global level. It especially addresses researchers and policy makers who are interested in using representative online surveys in road safety monitoring. Furthermore, potential partners will have the chance to ask questions on participation in the ESRA network. ESRA (E-Survey of Road users’ Attitudes) is a global cross-national initiative in currently 38 countries. The aim of the project is to provide scientific support to road safety policy by generating comparable national data on the current road safety situation. Using a uniform sampling method, an identical questionnaire and uniform programming of the questionnaire, allows for full comparability among the countries. The objective of this session is to provide an overview on the project: motivation, objectives, methodology, and key results. The different speakers will highlight examples of extracting results on regional, national and thematic level: Uta Meesmann (ESRA coordinator; Vias institute, Belgium): motivation, objectives, methodology and recent key results on regional level. Ward Vanlaar (ESRA2 core group partner; TIRF, Canada): comparison of national- and regional results with respect to mobile phone use (Europe, Canada, and USA). Sangjin Han (ESRA2 core group partner; KOTI, Republic of Korea): comparison of national results of the Republic of Korea with European results (benchmarking). Gerald Furian (ESRA1_2 core group partner; KfV, Austria): extracting thematic results from ESRA and combining them with external data sources, here exemplified with CARE accident data. Uta Meesmann (ESRA coordinator; Vias institute, Belgium): brief overview of the structure of the ESRA network and the possibilities to join this initiative (next wave ESRA2 - 2019). The session will close with a discussion on using representative online survey in monitoring road safety attitudes and performance. Furthermore, potential new partners will have the chance to ask questions on joining this network. Background and motivation: Monitoring road safety attitudes and performance Trends in road safety performance and the success of policy measures can be monitored using road safety indicators. Important data sources to assess the road safety situation are accident statistics, road side surveys, and questionnaire surveys. The latter, in particular if they are conducted online, are a relatively inexpensive way to obtain indicators on safety culture and road users’ behaviour, but they rely on self-declared information which might be prone to factors such as social desirability in responses. A main advantage of questionnaire surveys is that they can provide insights into socio-cognitive determinants of behaviour, such as attitudes, perceived social norm, risk perception, or existing habits. Socio-cognitive factors can help to understand the underlying motivations of certain behaviour (e.g. Ajzen, 1991; Rosenstock, 1974; Rogers, 1975; Vanlaar and Yannis, 2006). It is tempting to use such indicators based on questionnaire surveys for benchmarking purposes. However, the results of national surveys are seldom comparable across countries because of differences in the aims, the scope, the methodology, the questions used, or the sample population being surveyed. Therefore, the European Commission initiated the European project SARTRE (Social Attitudes to Road Traffic Risk in Europe; homepage: www.attitudes-roadsafety.eu/) in 1991. A common questionnaire and study design was developed and face to face interviews were conducted among a representative sample of the national adult population. Four editions of the SARTRE survey were launched (1991, 1996, 2002, 2010). In the first three editions of the SARTE project, surveys were directed only to car drivers. In the fourth edition, the target group was extended to ‘powered two wheelers’, pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport (Cestac and Delhomme, 2012). This SARTRE4 survey in 2010, was the last large-scale measurement of social attitudes towards road traffic risk in Europe. Since then, there was a lack of comparable and reliable data on road safety attitudes and behaviour within Europe. Hence, in 2015, the Vias institute (formerly Belgian Road Safety Institute) launched the ESRA initiative (E-Survey of Road users’ Attitudes; homepage: www.esranet.eu)

The ESRA2 survey: Comparing Australian road safety performance with European countries

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The ESRA Survey : Cross National Initiative To Monitor Road Users’ Attitudes And Performence

In 2015 the Vias institute (formerly Belgian Road Safety Institute), in cooperation with research institutes and road safety organizations from 17 European countries, launched the ESRA initiative (E-Survey of Road users’ Attitudes; homepage: www.esranet.eu). The initiative apparently meets current needs. Already the first ESRA survey (ESRA1) rapidly grew to a global survey across 38 countries (figure 1) and is expected to grow to over 50 countries across 6 continents in the next edition (ESRA2). The aim of the project is to provide scientific support to road safety policy by generating comparable national data on the current road safety situation. Using a uniform sampling method, an identical questionnaire and uniform programming of the questionnaire, allows for full comparability among the countries. The first ESRA survey (ESRA1) was conducted online using representative samples (N=1,000) of the national adult populations in 38 countries (online internet access panel). A common questionnaire was developed and translated into 33 national langue versions. The field work was carried out in three waves: (1) June/July 2015, (2) November 2016, (3) July/August 2017. In total, ESRA1 covers almost 40,000 respondents from 38 countries across the world. The themes covered in the survey are, amongst others: ‘the use of different transport modes’, ‘involvement in road crashes’, ‘safety feeling’, ‘concerns about road safety’, ‘self-declared behaviour’, ‘attitudes towards road safety’, ‘acceptability of unsafe traffic behaviour’, ‘enforcement’, and ‘support for policy measures’. For most of these themes the ESRA1 survey investigated the following four topics: speeding, driving under influence, distraction and seat belt use. Moreover, the results can be linked to sociodemographic characteristics of the respondent such as: gender, age or educational level. ESRA1 survey targeted all type of road users, mainly car drivers but also other groups such as motorcyclists, cyclists or pedestrians (e.g. helmet use). The current intention is to repeat this survey on a triennial basis, retaining a core set of questions in every survey allowing the development of time series of road safety performance indicators. The next edition (ESRA2) will be launched in October 2018. More information can be found on: www.esranet.eu; Meesmann et al., 2018; Torfs et al., 2016)

Potential For Growth : New Countries Joining

The objective of this presentation is to give a brief overview of the structure of the ESRA network and the possibilities to join this initiative. The next edition, in which countries can join, will be launched in October 2018