Educating Health Care Providers on Driving Competence

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many older adults experience declines in sensory and cognitive function that can result in increased difficulty with everyday activities. One everyday activity, which is crucial to maintaining independence, is driving. Mobility is critical for maintaining social contacts and a satisfying quality of life, and mobility loss frequently results in the need for formal care. Therefore, effective methods for extending safe mobility could have far-reaching consequences. The focus of the proposed research is to evaluate the feasibility of an intervention program designed to educate health care providers about the functional abilities older drivers need to maintain their driving competence. The intervention would also educate them about remedial programs to potentially boost the driving skills of their older patients. The Phase I application aims to convene a Steering Committee to finalize the content of such a program, to evaluate the feasibility of meeting the needs of health care providers in this area, and to pilot test a brief screening program for use in health care settings. This program would provide a low cost and convenient means for disseminating information on older drivers to the health care community, and would potentially benefit older individuals experiencing functional declines. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: This product would ultimately be made available to all health care providers who may need to assess older adults for driving competency.