Grant: Project Grant

Schizophrenia is a mental illness that can cause severe problems with understanding the real world. People with schizophrenia sometimes hallucinate (see or hear something that isn't there). They can also have problems with logical thinking. These problems can make it difficult to drive safely. Antipsychotic medications are prescribed by doctors to improve many symptoms of schizophrenia. People with schizophrenia might also drive more safely when they are taking their antipsychotics as prescribed. Unfortunately, many people with schizophrenia do not take their medications as prescribed. We want to know if people with schizophrenia drive more safely when they are taking their antipsychotics as prescribed. British Columbia's (BC's) unique health and driving databases can be used to study this issue. We will complete a research study using health and driving records from BC residents who were involved in a serious car crash between 2000 and 2016. Names, birth dates and other identifying information will be removed before we look at the data. We will focus on car crashes that were bad enough to be reported to the police, including crashes in which someone was seriously injured or killed. We will assess whether people with schizophrenia are less likely to be responsible for a car crash if they are taking their antipsychotic medications as prescribed. The results of our study will be used by doctors to give the best possible advice about driving for people with schizophrenia. Our results will also be used by experts to create rules that can prevent traffic injuries among people with schizophrenia and improve safety for everyone on the road.