We have partnered with Driving Mobility who will use our tests as part of their cognitive assessment for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia across their 17 UK centres. We will conduct follow-up testing of the same people after 12 months to determine whether cognitive changes are predictive of future road traffic incidents in this population.
Background
Cognitive/thinking changes are the hallmark of dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Most people associate memory problems with dementia, but other cognitive changes, such as spatial disorientation, are also highly common. These cognitive changes can affect the fitness to drive and road traffic incident risk for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia. However, there remains very poor knowledge regarding the impact of cognitive changes on fitness to drive and the future risk for road traffic incidents in Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia.
The current project will try to rectify this shortcoming by building on our previous DECISION study. DECISION established a normative cognitive data set in over 1,000 older, healthy drivers, which can be now used as a benchmark for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia. We have now partnered with Driving Mobility who will use our tests as part of their cognitive assessment for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia across their 17 UK centres. People attending Driving Mobility centres will undergo the current ‘gold standard’ of cognitive testing and on road driving assessment; following that they will be asked to participate in our study completing our online cognitive tests and driving questionnaires. Importantly, we will conduct follow-up testing of the same people after a 12-months delay to determine whether cognitive changes are predictive of future road traffic incidents in this population.
The project will allow determining whether our innovative, specifically designed cognitive tests for driving are feasible to use in Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia. It will further allow validating our findings against existing cognitive tests and on road assessments. Finally, it will allow determining which specific cognitive deficits and their level of impairment are associated in Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia with a reduced fitness to drive and road traffic incident risk.
Project Aims
- Determine the feasibility of online cognitive tests in MCI and early dementia via nationwide Driving Mobility driving assessment centres
- Establish the reliability and validity of online cognitive tests compared to current cognitive testing and on-road assessment
- Determine how cognitive performance in Mild Cognitive Impairment and early dementia relates to historic and future road traffic incident risk
Project Activity
This project is currently in the setup phase.
Anticipated outputs
The outcomes might inform future driving assessment practice and guidelines.
Who is involved?
Prof Michael Hornberger (corresponding researcher),
Mary Fisher-Morris,
Mr Sol Morrissey,
Miss Rachel Gillings
