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Elderly Nursing
Introduction
The article "Visual Attention and Self-Regulation of Driving among Older Adults", written by Ozioma C., Okonkwo, M.C, Virginia G.W and Karlene B. It was first published in August 13, 2007 by the International Psychogeriatric Association.
The article deals with the behavior and conduct of elderly people above the age of 75 while on the road.
How the study was carried out
In order to measure their performance while driving, there was a usage of several variables. First, the DHQ assesses the driving exposure and avoidance of situations which can potentially be risky, including driving at night, left hand turns, driving in unfamiliar areas, etc. the participants filled in their assessment of themselves in a scale from 1 to 5, 1 meaning they never avoid these things do it and 5 meaning they always avoid these situations. These items were reviewed individually and then summed up as a total to establish an assessment about the driver.
Another variable was the UFOV assessment, which is a test of visual attention that has been found to be predicative of car crashes for older people.
The covariates of the study were age, gender, race, health status, physical functioning, vision and driving exposure. Driving exposure was calculated by the DHQ assessment, among other things. Further covariates were self-filled by the drivers.
The sample included participants from an ongoing Senior Driver Research Project, which was designed to examine the validity and reliability of the OFOV test. There was collaboration with State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, and licensed drivers aged 75 and above who live in Alabama were chosen. The potential participants were contacted via a letter, were given a toll-free number to return to, and those who had agreed to participate were met by trained staff at 11 designated locations. There they were tested in the UFOV and performed satisfactorily in the test and were eligible for the study.
A total number of 1,543 people participated, their mean age was 79.73. 41.7% were women, 2.7% were non-Caucasian. The University of Alabama approved all the procedures, and participants signed on consent to the study (Ozioma, Okonkwo, Virginia & Karlene, 2008).
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