Driving cessation is a major life transition for people with dementia, who are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, grief, social isolation, unsafe and unlicensed driving, and injury. We developed the CarFreeMe (CFM) driving cessation program, an innovative intervention targeted at supporting people with dementia to transition to alternative modes of transportation, maintain their independence and social participation, and enhance well-being. The intervention provides person-centered, flexible, and individually tailored education and social support, delivered by a trained health professional.

The 7-8 module CFM-Dementia intervention was delivered via telehealth to people with dementia who had stopped or were needing to stop driving. The impact of the intervention on participants’ emotional and practical adjustment was evaluated pre- to post via surveys and semi-structured interviews.

The results represent a total of 74 people with dementia (60% male), aged 54 to 102 years (M=77.74), with varied forms of dementia (38% Alzheimer’s type), 43% still driving at baseline. Participants reported increased uptake of alternative forms of transport, improvements in preparedness to transition, enhanced personal well-being, and lower levels of depression (p<.05, paired samples t-test) and anxiety (p=.065) after participation in CFM. Additionally, qualitative data showed participants felt supported in their adjustment.

There are currently no empirically tested service provider-delivered interventions to facilitate driving retirement for people with dementia available in routine clinical practice. The results suggest that the CFM-Dementia program could serve as a valuable resource for addressing both the practical challenges and emotional needs associated with dementia-related driving cessation in clinical or community settings.