Effectiveness of a Driving Intervention on Safe Community Mobility for Returning Combat Veterans
Abstract
Veterans have an elevated crash risk post-deployment facing un-intentional injury or death. Our intervention addressed Veteran driving risk post-deployment with a multi-factorial approach. To address risk factors faced by Veterans intervention development considered co-occurring effects of TBI/PTSD/other blast related injuries and the impact of deployment experiences/exposures on driving. The intervention provided critical information on the combat veteran's driving fitness, impact of medical and psychological conditions on driving, and driving rehabilitation needs. A goal of effective driving interventions is to reduce driving errors and impact real-world driving (violations, citations and crashes). Secondary goals of promoting driving fitness include supporting key areas of community re-integration such as family functioning, employment, societal participation, and satisfaction with life. Feasibility of our intervention was tested in prior work, and early data suggest efficacy of the OT-DI for combat veterans with mild TBI, PTSD, and/or orthopedic conditions. Analysis of outcomes from the effectiveness study (manuscript under submission) validated earlier findings--that both groups (OT-DI and a control of traffic safety education) benefitted from intervention with a reduction of driving errors (measured via simulated driving evaluation)--but the effect was greater for the OT-DI group. Findings also indicated an impact on real world outcomes--with reductions in violations, citations, and crashes based on state department of motor vehicle records.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1190709
Entities
People
- Sandra M. Winter
- Sherrilene Classen
Organizations
- University of Florida