older drivers' on-road skills
Older people who performed a physical conditioning program developed by researchers at the School of Medicine were able to maintain or enhance their driving performance, potentially leading to a safer and more independent quality of life.
As the number of older drivers increases, concern about the safety implications has been raised, and was a motivator for the study. Flexibility, coordination and speed of movement have been linked with older drivers' on-road performance.
The study of 178 greater New Haven-area drivers age 70 and older was led by Dr. Richard Marottoli, associate professor of internal medicine, and colleagues at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven and the Department of Rehabilitation Services at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Their results were published in the May issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Participants in the intervention group received weekly visits for 12 weeks from a physical therapist who guided them through a graduated exercise program directed at physical abilities potentially relevant to driving, as identified in earlier studies. They exercised for seven days a week for 15 minutes, focusing on the hips, ankles, knees, shoulders, hands and feet. Therapists noted gait abnormalities and made recommendations to correct unsafe or inefficient gait patterns. They encouraged walking for exercise.
The control group received monthly in-home education that reviewed general safety issues about home safety, fall prevention and vehicle care. The intervention group also received these materials.
Participants completed an on-road driving evaluation with a mix of highway driving, parking lot maneuvers, and low-, medium- and high-density traffic areas. Either a specially trained occupational therapist or a former Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) assessor evaluated participants. Driving performance was rated on a 36-item scale that evaluated a number of driving maneuvers and traffic conditions; the scale was based on the driving evaluation form used by the CT-DMV.
Participants who received the intervention increased their road test scores after three months. Intervention drivers also committed 37% fewer critical errors.
"We found that this was a safe, well-tolerated intervention that maintained driving performance," says Marottoli, who is also medical director of the Dorothy Adler Geriatric Assessment Center at Yale-New Haven Hospital. "Having interventions that can maintain or enhance driving performance may allow clinician-patient discussions about driving to adopt a more positive tone, rather than focusing on limiting driving or stopping patients from driving."
Other authors on the study included Heather Allore, Katy L.B. Araujo, Lynne P. Iannone, Denise Acampora, Margaret Gottschalk, Peter Charpentier, Stanislav Kasl and Peter Peduzzi.
-- By Karen Peart
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Gift of $10 million to support work of China Law Center
Studies cast new light on problems, treatment of childhood obesity
Bias against overweight youths can have lasting impact
Weight management program shown to cut diabetes risk
Students' summer projects designed to serve city's needs
Tennis center being transformed into state-of-the-art facility
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS
Yale scientists part of 'dream team' investigating hypertension
New genome technology can identify patients with . . .
Study: Virus has 'bystander' effect
Phyical conditioning shown to improve older drivers' on-road skills
Conference speakers examined the 'ethical dance' . . .
Paul Genecin reappointed as director of YUHS
Postdoc honored with fellowship for research on drug delivery
Architecture School to begin new year in temporary home with talk, exhibit
Exhibit showcases diverse incarnations of Kipling's books
Manuscripts provide window into pre-20th-century Islamic life, learning
Alumni earn Yale Medals for service to their alma mater
Newly renovated Cross Campus Library to open in the fall
Exhibit highlights career of artist who 'probed the nation's ills'
Pilot Pen tournament to bring top-ranked players to Elm City
Ira Millstein is again named 'Corporate Lawyer of the Year'
MacMillan Center awards book prize to French professor Maurice Samuel
In Memoriam: Peter H. Marris
Memorial service for Helen Simpson Culler
Documentary on the creation of Peabody Museum's Torosaurus . . .
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home