People with dementia often rely on family caregivers to assist with daily activities, manage healthcare needs, and make decisions. This scoping review aimed to characterize the involvement of caregivers in research about driving transitions for people with dementia. We identified 16 articles that included caregivers in studies investigating the driving of people with dementia. Key themes describing caregiver involvement in this research included that family caregivers (1) observed and assessed the driving of the person with dementia, (2) made decisions about driving, and (3) had a mixed experience of the impacts of dementia on driving. Family caregivers play a vital role in navigating driving transitions and experience their own logistical and emotional burdens associated with these transitions. To effectively include caregivers in research and intervention development, future work should explicitly consider caregivers' unique perspectives and experiences during this complex life transition.
Hansmann et al. (Sun,) studied this question.