Driving

Book chapter found in Ways of Living: Intervention Strategies to Enable Participation, Fifth Edition.

Book chapter found in Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction, Eighth Edition.

Dr. Classen’s team has been researching how older drivers experience autonomous vehicle technology. As a result of this research, two continuing education lectures were developed for inclusion in the Driving Rehabilitation Therapy Certificate program offered by the UF Department of Occupational Therapy.

To enable family members or friends, in the USA and Canada, to detect at-risk older drivers, Dr. Classen and colleagues, developed and tested the Fitness-to-Drive Screening Measure (FTDS), a user friendly on-line tool http://fitnesstodrive.phhp.ufl.edu/. Family members, caregivers, or friends who had driven with the driver in the last three months, may rate the drivers’ difficulties by completing 54 screening questions. After completing the questions a keyform, or rating profile, of each driver is produced which includes a classification of the driver into one of three categories: at-risk driver, routine driver, or accomplished driver. Based on the specific driver category, recommendations-- the logical next steps for family members, friends or clinicians-- are suggested for each driver. These recommendations entail guidelines for continued fitness to drive, seeking interventions, or starting conversations about stopping driving. The FTDS has been translated into Japanese and Korean with demonstrated psychometric support for the Korean version. A shorter version has been developed (32 items) with excellent predictive validity of fitness to drive outcomes. This course will discuss each of these core activities and apply content information to an actual case study.

Under the leadership of Dr. Sherrilene Classen and Dr. Sandra Winter, and in collaboration with the University of Florida T-2 center, the Department of Occupational Therapy has received a Florida Department of Transportation grant to develop a computer based-training (CBT) program for teens.

The Institute for Mobility, Activity, and Participation delivered an eight-hour pre-conference workshop at ADED. Additionally, Dr. Classen received ADED's Scholarship Award for her outstanding scientific and leadership contributions to the field.

This course starts by providing a background of crash statistics for the U.S. and introduces the concept of crash risk and crash risk reduction. Next, we provide an overview of terminology that is used in the driving literature, specifically related to driving outcomes. The audience is further exposed to a breadth of evidence-based methods and tools to help assess an individual’s fitness to drive. These assessments include the Comprehensive Driving Evaluation, which can be subdivided into clinical assessments, driving simulator assessments, and the on-road assessment. Dr. Classen is synopsizing the factual content in this course from almost two decades of exposure to empirical evidence and best practices –all packaged to enable clinicians to practice from an evidence-based perspective.

The Department of Occupational Therapy’s Institute for Mobility, Activity, and Participation (I-MAP) team is working in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the City of Gainesville to better understand the perception, values, beliefs and attitudes of drivers 65 years and older as it relates to emerging autonomous vehicle technology.

The Department of Occupational Therapy welcomes Dr. Amber Angell, research assistant professor, and Dr. Justin Mason, postdoctoral associate.

In the state of Florida, nearly 20 percent of the population is age 65 or older. For many, progression in age can mean regression in driving ability. But a new service offered by the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions’ department of occupational therapy aims to give seniors and others a chance to improve their skills behind the wheel.