Department of Occupational Therapy Program Faculty Articles

Development of a Behind‐the‐Wheel Driving Performance Assessment for Older Adults

Publication Title

Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation

ISSN

0882-7524

Publication Date

4-2006

Keywords

Driving Performance Assessment

Abstract

Many driving rehabilitation specialists and researchers have emphasized the “on-road” driving assessment as the most appropriate method to determine driving performance. Difficulty arises with consensus surrounding the standardization of the clinical assessment and on-road assessment protocols. This research was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties and clinical utility of a standardized method for behind-the-wheel (BTW) driving assessment for older adults. Ninety-five older adults from the Gainesville, Fla, area were assessed for BTW performance by driving rehabilitation specialists. A global rating (criterion) of overall driving competence was correlated with an objective performance score. The global rating was found to be significantly correlated with the driving performance score (r = 0.84, P < .001). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for interrater (0.94) and test-retest (0.95) reliability for the performance score. Internal consistency for the BTW assessment was 0.94. These assessment methods and the course design provide a valid and reliable outcome measure of driving performance for older adults.

DOI

10.1097/00013614-200604000-00004

Volume

22

Issue

2

First Page

121

Last Page

128

Disciplines

Occupational Therapy

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