title: A randomized crash injury prevention trial of transitioning high-risk elders from driving.
abstract: Supplemental digital content is available in the text.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Older adults with medical conditions that impair function are at risk for experiencing a motor vehicle crash. This randomized controlled trial tested an intervention to reduce crash-related risk among older patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 2-to-1 allocation ratio resulted in comparisons between 26 intervention and 13 attention control (n = 39) group members who were recruited from inpatient and outpatient settings. The intervention consisted of two sessions of facilitated planning in which participants' health, transportation alternatives, attitudes/emotions regarding a change in mobility, and actions to ensure continued safe mobility were discussed. Moreover, all participants received supportive telephone calls during the 6-month intervention period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results showed that when compared with the control group, the intervention group had significantly better subjective health, had fewer high-risk driving behaviors, and drove less distance on excursions from home at follow-up. Yet, simple repeated-measures analyses were not significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest that facilitated planning may help ease the transition to driving retirement among some high-risk older patients. Larger samples and longer study duration are needed to confirm these effects and to measure direct crash and injury outcomes. A significant proportion of high-risk patients do not plan for driving retirement and remain a crash risk.
  
  
  METHODS
  Therapeutic/care management study, level III.
authors.affiliation: From the Washington University in St. Louis (J.D.S., S.B.); University of Missouri-St. Louis (T.M.M.); and Saint Louis University (M.B.-W.), St. Louis; and University of Missouri (N.S., J.C.), Columbia, Missouri; and University of Colorado Denver (T.M.C.), Denver, Colorado.
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Stowe
authors.forename: Teresa M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Cooney
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonne
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Meuser
authors.forename: Marla
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berg-Weger
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Coughenour
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012309:Risk-Taking