ENHANCING MOBILITY IN THE ELDERLY

这项申请提出了一个应用老年学研究中心，地址为 西肯塔基大学。拟建中心的主题是研究 关于通过赡养来延长老年人的独立性 驾驶能力背后的关键技能和功能。许多 老年人随着年龄的增长而出现驾驶困难，原因是 感觉和认知功能的恶化。特别是， 最近的研究表明，视觉注意力问题是有益的。 老年人中事故发生率增加的预测因素。这些 当事故发生时，更有可能导致受伤和 与年轻司机相比，长期残疾或死亡的人更多。这个 这一研究领域的重要性被以下事实突显出来 持续的流动性促进了独立性，而这些的最终目标 中心旨在通过提高老年人的生活质量来造福老年人的生活 生活，提高生产力，最大限度地减少对护理的需求。 此外，流动性降低会导致社会和经济问题。 依赖家庭成员和整个社会。一个相关的、必不可少的 目标是在不牺牲安全考虑的情况下保持机动性。 肯塔基州西部拟建的应用老年学研究中心 大学将有三个研究部分，都是为了评估 和/或制定干预措施，提高老年人的行动能力。全 研究项目主要对社区成员感兴趣 居住人口，他们可以走动，并且能够开车。《田野》 该中心的干预研究旨在评估一项培训 以检测和改善视觉注意为目标的程序 与事故风险增加相关的问题，以及 确定此培训是否可减少事故发生率，并 通过驾驶实现持续的机动性。有两个实验室项目。一 研究将确定眼科基金会医院的个人 阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校计划即将 白内障摘除手术。这个项目将评估一系列已知的预测者 与白内障摘除前后的撞车史有关 确定视觉功能的改善与未来驾驶的关系 性能和其他高阶函数预测指标，如视觉 请注意。第二项实验室研究将评估培训的转移 不仅减少了事故的发生，而且还减少了驾驶模拟器 性能和其他实验室测量的关键技能必不可少 为了安全驾驶。该中心还将提供一个管理核心， 将为三家公司提供)数据管理和生物统计服务：L 项目，2)所有项目所需的技术支持和设备 项目，以及3)示范和信息传播服务 这些项目使得关于增强独立性的新发现。是 向医疗保健专业人员、公众、科学界 社区和政府政策制定者。最后，该中心将有一个 也将监督核心的运作的咨询委员会 作为个人项目。

This application proposes a Center of Research on Applied Gerontology at Western Kentucky University. The theme of the proposed Center is research on prolonging the independence of older adults through maintenance of those critical skills and functions underlying driving competence. Many older adults experience difficulty in driving with advancing age due to the deterioration of sensory and cognitive functions. In particular, recent studies have demonstrated that visual attentional problems are good predictors of increased accident involvement in older adults. These accidents, when they occur, are much more likely to result in injury and long-term disability or death than those involving younger drivers. The significance of this research field is underscored by the fact that continued mobility fosters independence, and the ultimate goal of these centers is to benefit the lives of older people by improving quality of life, enhancing productivity, and minimizing the need for care. Furthermore, decreased mobility leads to both social and economic dependence on family members and society at large. A related and essential goal is the maintenance of mobility without sacrificing safety concerns. The proposed Center of Research on Applied Gerontology at Western Kentucky University will have three research components, all designed to evaluate and/or develop interventions to enhance mobility in the elderly. All research projects are primarily interested in members of the community dwelling population who are ambulatory, and able to drive. The Field Intervention Study of the Center is designed to evaluate a training program targeted at both detecting and improving visual attentional problems that have been associated with increased accident risk, and to determine if this training leads to reduced accident involvement and continued mobility through driving. There are two laboratory projects. One study will identify individuals in the Eye Foundation Hospital at the University of Alabama in Birmingham who are scheduled for imminent cataract removal. This project will evaluate a battery of predictors known to be related to crash history both before and following cataract removal to determine how improvement of visual function relates to future driving performance and other higher order functional predictors such as visual attention. The second laboratory study will evaluate transfer of training not only to reduced accident involvement, but also to driving simulator performance and other laboratory measures of the critical skills essential for safe driving. The Center will also provide a management core, which will provide: l) data management and biostatistical services for all three projects, 2) technical support and equipment as needed for all the projects, and 3) demonstration and information dissemination services for the projects so that new findings about enhancing independence. are communicated to health care professionals, the public, the scientific community, and government policy makers. Finally, the Center will have an Advisory Committee which will oversee the functioning of the core as well as the individual projects.