Predicting Long-Term Mobility Outcomes for Older Adults

描述(由申请人提供)：为了确定老年司机机动性不良结果的功能能力风险因素，马里兰州机动车管理局(MVA)、NHTSA和NIA资助的UAB Roybal应用老年学研究中心于1998年发起了一项合作研究。在这项研究中，一个大样本(N=2415)的老年人在几个MVA现场完成执照续签后，用一组简单的基于绩效的措施进行了评估。此外，通过电话采访对这些参与者中的一个子样本(N=1432)进行了长达十年的跟踪调查，以监测他们总体健康和流动性的变化。通过这项研究，发现一组有限的功能能力测试可以预测未来的坠机事件，并被马里兰州MVA认为有助于进一步评估和可能在许可过程中实施。此外，研究还发现，这些变量可以预测总体活动能力下降和丧失独立性。本研究建议1)继续跟踪访谈样本中的812名老年人继续变老，2)使用下一代功能能力测试来确定早期碰撞预测关系是否可以复制，以建立一个新的、更具代表性的、以人群为基础的司机样本(70岁)，以及3)在MVA的背景下评估认知训练计划的处理速度，作为促进和扩展安全移动的一种手段。 公共卫生相关性：与年龄相关的健康变化，以及身体、感觉和认知功能的变化，往往会使老年人更容易失去行动能力，并增加因跌倒或车祸受伤的风险。这项正在进行的研究项目表明，功能能力和撞车风险之间的关系受到了广泛关注，因为这个社会和其他社会正在努力制定新的政策，以平衡人口老龄化对个人机动性和公共安全的需求。这项研究的下一阶段的研究结果将对设计政策和计划以延长老年司机的安全机动性具有重要意义，以及评估增强认知功能对维持机动性、健康、独立性和令人满意的生活质量至关重要的其他各种结果的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In order to identify functional ability risk factors for adverse mobility outcomes among older drivers, a collaborative study was initiated in 1998 between the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), NHTSA, and the NIA-funded UAB Roybal Center for Research on Applied Gerontology. In this study, a large sample (N=2415) of older adults was evaluated with a brief battery of performance-based measures after completing license renewal at several MVA field sites. In addition, a sub-sample of these participants (N=1432) was followed for a period of up to ten years by telephone interview in order to monitor changes in their overall health and mobility. Through that study, a limited set of functional ability tests were found to be predictive of future crash involvement, and deemed useful by the Maryland MVA for further evaluation and potential implementation in the licensing process. In addition, these same variables were found to be predictive of general declines in mobility and loss of independence. The present research proposes 1) to continue to follow the 812 older adults remaining in the interview sample as they continue to age, 2) to establish a new, more representative, population-based sample of drivers (aged 70+) using the next generation of functional ability tests to determine whether earlier crash prediction relationships can be replicated, and 3) to evaluate a speed of processing cognitive training program in the context of the MVA as a means of facilitating and extending safe mobility. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Age-related changes in health, as well as physical, sensory, and cognitive function, frequently leave older persons more vulnerable to loss of mobility and increased risk of injuries due to falls or automobile crashes. The relationships between functional abilities and crash risk, demonstrated through this ongoing research project, have received wide attention as this and other societies struggle to develop new policies that balance the need for personal mobility and public safety in an aging population. Findings from the next phase of this study will have important implications for designing policies and programs to extend the safe mobility of older drivers, as well as evaluating the impact of enhancing cognitive function on a variety of other outcomes important to sustaining mobility, health, independence, and a satisfying quality of life.