By: Catherine Sullivan, Ph.D, OTR/L & Jennifer Fischer, MS, OTR/L, CDRS, LDI
Register Here- Giving Up Driving
Handout – Giving Up Driving – 1 slide per page
Handout – Giving Up Driving – 2 slides per page
Earn 1 CEU, pre-approved for Social Workers by BOSW; self-submit other disciplines.
MGS is listed as a Continuing Education Resource by the MN Board of Nursing.
As demonstrated by the high profile case of Prince Philip waiting until his late nineties to reluctantly give up his driving privileges following an accident , the independence provided by one’s car is not easy to relinquish. We know that with advancing age, we experience changes in motor, sensory and cognitive functions that can threaten driving safety. Clinical conditions more common in older adults as well as medications used to treat those conditions can also create greater risk behind the wheel. This webinar will show that it “takes a village” to create an environment that facilitates a smooth transition to no longer driving. It will provide resources that older drivers and their families can use and guidance on steps to follow, with a focus on the role occupational therapists play in assessment and interventions to maximize safety and ease that transition.
By the end of this webinar participants will:
- Understand key factors leading to increased driving risk in older adults
- Learn about long term and short term strategies older drivers and their families can use to facilitate the transition to community mobility alternatives.
- Learn how to access resources relevant to older driver safety and transitions
- Learn about the role of occupational therapists in assessment, intervention and transition counseling.
Catherine Sullivan, Ph.D, OTR/L is a faculty member at St. Catherine University’s Henrietta Schmoll School of Health. Her scholarship and teaching focus on occupational therapy interventions with older adults, including a Masters’ Project course on improving older driver safety. She has presented internationally, nationally and locally about older driver issues and is passionate about partnering with local organizations such as the MN Safety Council, AAA- Minneapolis and others to educate the public on ways to stay safe and mobile in the community.
Jennifer Fischer, MS, OTR/L, CDRS, LDI has practiced as an occupational therapist for 17 years, working with adults in an inpatient rehabilitation center for 12 years before specializing in driver rehabilitation. She currently provides driver assessments and training at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute. She has a particular interest in working with older adults to maintain driving as long as it is safely possible.
Research article(s) on the topic regarding best practices or relevant articles:
Choi, M., Adams, K. B., & Kahana, E. (2012). The impact of transportation support on driving cessation among community-dwelling older adults. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 67(3), 392–400. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbs035 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3325089/
Connell, C. M., Harmon, A., Janevic, M. R., & Kostyniuk, L. P. (2013). Older adults’ driving reduction and cessation: Perspectives of adult children. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 32(8), 975-996. doi:10.1177/0733464812448962
Jones, J., Dickerson, A., Flaten, H. K., Belmashkan, S., & Betz, M. E. (2016). Driving rehabilitation specialists’ perspectives on older driver evaluations. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70, 7002270010. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2016.016915
Piersma, D., Fuermaier, A., De Waard, D., Davidse, R., De Groot, J., Doumen, M., . . . Tucha, O. (2018). Adherence to driving cessation advice given to patients with cognitive impairment and consequences for mobility. BMC Geriatrics, 18(1), 1-12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6142418/