[Association between driver's license possession and outings for personal errands among older adults in Higashi-Surugawan metropolitan area].

Objective Public transport is less developed in regional cities than in metropolitan areas. Consequently, older adults in these cities often face difficulties in securing alternative means of transportation after surrendering their driver's licenses, which can lead to reduced outings. Understanding the relationship between possessing a driver's license by an older adult and the purpose of outings in regional cities can provide fundamental information for designing appropriate support measures. This study aimed to examine the association between driver's license possession and outings for personal errands among older adults living in regional cities, while focusing on sex-specific patterns and differences between early- and late-stage older adults.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from 9,463 individuals aged 65-84 years who responded to the third Higashi-Surugawan metropolitan area person trip survey, which was carried out in Shizuoka Prefecture in December 2015 and February 2016. Outing purposes were classified into categories such as "routine household chores and shopping," "non-routine shopping," "social activities, meetings, recreation, dining," "pick-up and drop-off," "medical visits," "tourism and leisure," and "other personal purposes." Logistic regression analyses were performed separately by sex and by early- and late-stage older adults, with the presence or absence of outings for each purpose as the dependent variable and driver's license possession as the independent variable.Results The findings indicated a significant positive association between driver's license possession and outings for certain purposes. Among early-stage older men, possessing a license was associated with outings for "non-routine shopping," "pick-up and drop-off," and "tourism and leisure," whereas among late-stage older men, it was associated with outings for "routine household chores and shopping" and "pick-up and drop-off." Among early stage older women, possessing a license was associated with outings for "social activities, meetings, recreation, dining," "pick-up and drop-off," "medical visits," "tourism and leisure," and "other personal purposes," whereas among late-stage older women, it was associated with outings for "social activities, meetings, recreation, dining," "pick-up and drop-off," "tourism and leisure," and "other personal purposes."Conclusion Drivers' license possession among older adults living in regional cities is associated with outings for several personal purposes, such as household chores, shopping, social activities, and medical visits.