Is Candrive II truly Canadian: Investigating the representativeness of the Candrive sample through comparisons with the Canadian Community Health Survey sample.

摘要

The primary purpose of this study is to document the representativeness of the Candrive II convenience sample and whether the outcomes of the study can be applied to Canadian drivers over the age of 70. The data for the study were drawn from two databases: Candrive II and Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). The Candrive sample consists of 932 older drivers recruited in the community in 7 Canadian metropolitan areas of Canada. The CCHS is a representative sample of health-related data from Canadians aged 45 and above. The data of all drivers over 70 years of age were extracted, for a total of 3 899 older Canadian drivers. The comparability of the samples was assessed through equivalence testing on demographic, health and levels of functioning. The analyses indicate that the Candrive II sample of older drivers is highly similar to the Canadian population as derived from the CCHS sample. This was especially true for demographic variables, such as age, sex and education. Minor differences were noted on self-reported health and levels of functioning, but overall both groups appear highly similar. We conclude that the outcomes and findings of the Candrive II longitudinal study would be generalizable to the population of older Canadian drivers.