Safe mobility is essential to continued engagement in civic, social, and community life, and to the human interactions necessary for health, well-being, and quality of life. When safe driving is no longer possible for older adults, safe and practicable alternative transportation must be available. Furthermore, older adults are individuals; they have specific needs, abilities, and resources. Not all older adults will have difficulty meeting their transportation needs and no single transportation solution will work for all people. Research and countermeasures intended to help meet the transportation needs of older adults will likely also benefit younger users of the transportation system, particularly those with disabilities. The issues surrounding the maintenance of safe transportation for older adults will require an interdisciplinary research approach if we are to make significant progress in the next decade as the baby boomers begin to reach age 70.
Occupational therapy practitioners should consider screening their older adult clientele for fear of falling, anxiety, and depression because these states may lead to fall risk and activity restriction.
Results: CIM items produced standardized alphas ranging from 0.72 to 0.83. Significant positive correlations were found among the CIM and both the CIQ-R and SWLS, with the CIM performing better with the SWLS than did the CIQ-R. The CIM discriminated between subject samples as well as by living arrangement. The factor loading solution revealed a three-factor model that explained 63.72 percent of the variance.
Conclusion:The CIM shows good promise for capturing an individual's perception of community integration. The factor structure supports the original Model of Community Integration. Further research is needed to examine the influence of objective items on the CIM and Model of Community Integration.
Conducting interdisciplinary fall risk screens at an adult fall prevention event is feasible and can facilitate environmental and behavior changes to reduce fall risk.
Occupational therapists need to routinely assess driving ability in hospital and/or rehabilitation settings. The purpose of this study is to determine if the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS), an observational tool of instrumental activities of daily living, could discriminate between older adult drivers who pass, pass with restrictions, or fail a behind-the-wheel (BTW) evaluation. Forty-six participants were evaluated with a BTW driving assessment and the AMPS. Two one-way ANOVAs found significant differences for both the motor and process scores suggesting the AMPS can be used as a screening tool for driving. Results also showed no significant difference in age between those participants who passed, failed, or needed restrictions supporting the concept that driving abilities are related more to function, not age. Exploration of minimum scores is discussed.
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