Why was ROADI created?

With the aging population expected to climb 20% over the next 25 years, the rate of crashes and fatal accidents involving older adults is likely to become one of the leading causes of death among 65-75-year-olds. Currently, crashes are the second leading cause of death among 75-85-year-olds, second only to falls. In North Carolina, there is a limited number of driving evaluators and rehabilitation programs – only 11 occupational therapists for state that has 12% of its population over the age of 65 years of age and growing. In eastern North Carolina, there is only one driving evaluator and currently, someone needing an evaluation may need to wait 8-12 weeks for an appointment. This is clearly a need that ECU can serve in this area and be on the leading edge of research in the area. There is currently no major driving research center in North Carolina or nearby states. Only a few occupational therapy departments in the country have ongoing research programs for older adult drivers.

Dr. Anne Dickerson, professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, has been researching functional performance of older adults for over 15 years. The interest in driving was peaked when the American Occupational Therapy Association identified Older Adult Drivers as an emerging practice area five years ago. Since that time, she has devoted her research and service in this area. Through grants, presentations, and networking, Anne Dickerson has become one of the leading occupational therapy researchers and experts in this growing area.

ROADI’s Project Director

Dr. Anne Dickerson has been an occupational therapist for over 25 primarily teaching at universities and colleges. She has been at East Carolina University since 1993. Dr. Dickerson graduated summa cum laude from Temple University with a degree in occupational therapy, has a master's degree in allied health education/health administration, and a master's degree and PhD in developmental psychology from Florida International University. Her area of research has been primarily in aging and assessment of functional performance. She is editor of Occupational Therapy in Health Care and recognized nationally as a leader in education. She was awarded a fellow in the American Occupational Therapy Association and holds other honors from her professional organizations and university. Dr. Dickerson has been selected as a delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.

Anne Dickerson attended the North Carolina Driver Instructor Training program and will be licensed as a Driving Rehabilitation Specialist under Driver Rehabilitation Services, in North Carolina. Currently Dr. Dickerson is a member of the North Carolina Older Driver Safety Coalition, participated as a facilitator in the North American License Policies Workshop, instructor in the educational program CarFit, and Coordinator of the AOTA’s Headlights Newsletter.

Why occupational therapy and driving?

Occupational therapists are health care professionals who help individuals with skills for the job of living. Occupational therapists assist when individuals have difficulty with their daily tasks, including community mobility and transportation. Driving is a component of transportation that is critical to individuals across the lifespan. It becomes an issue when medical illnesses and diseases, as well as aging impacts an individual’s ability to continue to drive safely.

What do occupational therapists when considering driving?

• Evaluate older adults to determine any physical, visual, or cognitive limitations that could affect how they areable to drive a car.
• Conduct an on-the-road driving test to determine how problems identified in the evaluation affect a person’sability to drive safely.
• Provide training to drivers that improves their ability to drive safely.
• Recommend adaptive equipment and train older drivers how to use the equipment to help them continue to drive andget around safely and appropriately.

More information about occupational therapy and driving can be gathered from the AOTA’s website at: http://www1.aota.org/olderdriver/

What is happening at ROADI now?

There are several projects that have been completed recently and several that will be started this summer. Those currently started or will begin shortly include:

• A survey of driving evaluators is in the process of being developed to be sent to occupational therapists who specialize in driving.
• Jennifer Gaudy, a graduate student, is starting a thesis project that will survey older adults about IADL tasks that are impacted by the aging process. This is the first step in developing a screening tool for “at risk” activities, such as driving.
• Anne Dickerson received a grant from State Farm Insurance of North Carolina to develop an on-line course for occupational therapists interested in pursuing driver specialization. The course is expected to be ready for registration in the fall of 2008.
• The Department has purchased a driving simulator and will be using the simulator for future student projects and research. · Anne Dickerson, as an instructor of CarFit, will network with other faculty members using CarFit to determine an appropriate research agenda for the program.
• Two brake reaction timer studies have been completed with the new RT-2S Brake Reaction Time Tester. A third will start shortly that will continue this line of research.

Other ECU researchers associated with ROADI.

• Leonard Trujillo
• D. Mike Bradley
• Jane Painter

Completed student projects associated with ROADI

Publications and Presentations related to ROADI