Are interventions effective at improving driving in older drivers?: A systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Traffic Safety

Background:

• The aging population is increasing the number of older drivers.
• Older drivers face a higher risk of collisions, posing public health challenges.
• Limited research exists on interventions for healthy older drivers, focusing instead on medical screening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review interventions aimed at improving driving abilities in healthy older individuals.
• To identify strategies that enhance self-awareness, knowledge, behavior, and skills for safe driving.
• To synthesize findings on interventions that reduce crash or collision rates in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a systematic search of Scopus and PubMed databases for articles published between January 2007 and December 2017.
• Utilized MeSH terms related to safety, education, training, driving, simulators, programs, countermeasures, and older drivers.
• Reviewed retrieved abstracts and full texts for relevance to the study's objectives.

Main Results:

• Analyzed 25 articles categorized into classroom, computer-based, physical, simulator, on-road, and mixed interventions.
• Found that various approaches effectively improved specific driving skills and behaviors.
• Identified significant discrepancies in the evaluation methods and dependent variables across studies, hindering direct comparisons.

Conclusions:

• Highlighted effective interventions for improving older drivers' performance and safety.
• Emphasized the need for further research to combine and test the effectiveness of these interventions.
• Underscored the importance of developing and validating programs to maintain or enhance driving safety in the elderly population.