Driving Intervention for Returning Combat Veterans.
Increased crash incidence following deployment and veterans' reports of driving difficulty spurred traffic safety research for this population. We conducted an interim analysis on the efficacy of a simulator-based occupational therapy driving intervention (OT-DI) compared with traffic safety education (TSE) in a randomized controlled trial. During baseline and post-testing, OT-Driver Rehabilitation Specialists and one OT-Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist measured driving performance errors on a DriveSafety CDS-250 high-fidelity simulator. The intervention group ( n = 13) received three OT-DI sessions addressing driving errors and visual-search retraining. The control group ( n = 13) received three TSE sessions addressing personal factors and defensive driving. Based on Wilcoxon rank-sum analysis, the OT-DI group's errors were significantly reduced when comparing baseline with Post-Test 1 ( p < .0001) and comparing the OT-DI group with the TSE group at Post-Test 1 ( p = .01). These findings provide support for the efficacy of the OT-DI and set the stage for a future effectiveness study.
1 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Sherrilene
S
Classen
1 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.|2 North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Sandra
S
Winter
3 Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Miriam
M
Monahan
1 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Abraham
A
Yarney
4 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Amanda
A
Link Lutz
4 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Kyle
K
Platek
2 North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Charles
C
Levy
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009788:Occupational Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
driving; efficacy trial; simulation; veterans