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Published on: September 18, 2012
The Multiple Errands Test-Home Version and Its Association With Driving Potential: A Pilot Study
Hayley M Scott1, Anne M Baker2, Carolyn A Unsworth3
1Hayley M. Scott, PhD, MOT(Hons), BHSc, is Lecturer, Occupational Therapy Department, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University, Churchill, Victoria, Australia; hm.scott@federation.edu.au.
Importance:
Driving is a complex occupation requiring the interplay of high-level cognitive, physical, sensory, and behavioral skills for safe performance. Occupational therapists need to routinely address driving with adults as an occupational performance area. Further research is needed to determine whether performance-based assessment tools can support occupational therapists in screening client driving potential.
Objective:
To conduct a pilot study to determine whether the Multiple Errands Test-Home Version (MET-Home), as a performance-based assessment, either alone or in combination with other assessments, should be further investigated for use by occupational therapists to screen clients' driving potential.
Design:
Cross-sectional pilot study.
Setting:
Private in-clinic and community setting, including participants' homes.
Participants:
Convenience sampling recruited 28 participants through private occupational therapy driver assessors.
Outcomes And Measures:
Participants underwent a comprehensive in-clinic and behind-the-wheel assessment, as per standard practice, and three additional cognitive tests. Data were summarized with descriptive statistics, and univariate analyses were used to examine the relationships between cognitive assessment scores and driving outcomes.
Results:
The MET-Home, as a stand-alone tool and in combination with other cognitive assessment scores, was not associated with driving outcomes (pass-fail). However, participant self-assessment of their MET-Home performance was associated with driving outcomes (pass-fail; p = .014).
Conclusions And Relevance:
Although our findings suggest that the MET-Home is unlikely to screen for driving potential, further research of performance-based assessment tool use by occupational therapists is needed to support identification of the optimal type and timing of client referral for comprehensive assessment. Plain-Language Summary: The Multiple Errands Test-Home Version (MET-Home) is commonly completed by occupational therapists. Although this pilot study revealed that MET-Home scores were not associated with driving outcomes, performance-based assessments such as the MET-Home have the potential to guide occupational therapists when screening clients to determine when further, comprehensive assessment is indicated.
