United States version of the Stroke Driver Screening Assessment: a pilot study

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Transportation Safety

Background:

• Most stroke survivors resume driving within a year, often without formal fitness-to-drive evaluations due to a lack of standardized tools.
• The established Stroke Driver Screening Assessment (SDSA) is not currently used in the US.
• This study piloted the US version of the SDSA to assess its utility in a US-based stroke survivor cohort.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive ability of the US version of the Stroke Driver Screening Assessment (SDSA) in US stroke survivors.
• To evaluate the SDSA's potential as a screening tool for driving fitness post-stroke.

Main Methods:

• Administered the US version of the SDSA to 15 first-ever stroke survivors and 16 healthy adults.
• Compared SDSA performance with driving performance assessed in a high-fidelity driving simulator.

Main Results:

• The SDSA accurately predicted driving performance in both stroke survivors (87% accuracy) and healthy adults (88% accuracy).

Conclusions:

• The US SDSA demonstrates potential as an effective predictor of driving performance for mildly impaired stroke survivors.
• Further research with larger cohorts is necessary to confirm the predictive accuracy of the US SDSA.