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Sherrilene Classen

Use of Fitness to Drive Screening Tool

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.

College faculty, students recognized during International Education Week

The University of Florida International Center honored a College of Public Health and Health Professions faculty member and several graduate students during International Education Week, held November 12 to 16. Shabnam Medhizadah, a doctoral student in the rehabilitation science program who hails from Canada, was awarded with a certificate of excellence.

Department of Occupational Therapy partners with Find a Ride Florida to improve alternative transportation for Florida’s aging road users

To address the need for affordable and accessible transportation, the Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) Safety Office awarded the Institute for Mobility, Activity, and Participation at the University of Florida a grant which provides an alternative transportation database, and an interactive mapping website, for identifying transportation solutions for aging road users.

Evidence Based Indicators of Driving Performance

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.

New service at UF Health helps at-risk motorists assess, improve their driving skills

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.