NeuRA researcher Dr Lara Harvey will investigate the role of prescription medicine in serious road accidents after receiving a grant under the Australian Government National Road Safety Action Grants Program.

Senior Research Fellow in the Falls, Balance and Injury Research Centre and Senior Lecturer at the University of NSW School of Population Health, Dr Harvey was awarded the $882,620 grant for her proposal ​‘Unravelling the role of prescription medicine use in the causes and consequences of fatal and serious road crash injuries’. The project will be undertaken in collaboration with the NHMRC Medicines Intelligence Centre of Research Excellence and University of Sydney.

“Prescription medicines are used for a range of conditions, but more research is needed to understand the consequences of this on road users,” Dr Harvey said.

“For example, some medications affect the central nervous system, increasing crash risk, whilst others can exacerbate injuries after a crash. Whilst the alcohol and other illicit drug-related impairments are routinely assessed in crash investigations, prescription medicine use is not systematically recorded, creating a critical data gap.

“This project will identify which medicines are associated with crash causation and crash-related serious injury or death. It will also identify population groups and road user types that are disproportionately affected by specific medicines and develop risk prediction models to assist prescribers and consumers.”

The retrospective cohort study will provide evidence to update Austroads’ Assessing Fitness to Drive Guidelines and inform clinical prescribing practices and develop tailored consumer information. It will also guide policy interventions for medicine labelling, road safety strategies and regulatory frameworks to mitigate prescription medicine-related driving risks.