ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of different interventions applied to the driving performance of older drivers. Methods: Previous studies were found from an electronic database (e.g., MEDLINE and Google Scholar) published within a ten-year period from between January 2005 to April 2015. The following key terms were used: ‘automobile driving’ (MeSH term), ‘Aged’ (MeSH term), ‘Occupational Therapy’ (MeSH term) and ‘Treatment Outcome’ (MeSH term). Seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Results: The articles reviewed included five Level I evidence articles (71.4%) and two Level Ⅱ articles (28.6%). Five intervention themes emerged from the research: (1) cognitive training, (2) physical training, (3) education program, (4) simulator training, and (5) on-road driver training. Speed-of-processing and reasoning training resulted in lower rates of at-fault collision involvement than the controls during cognitive training. Only the education program theme did not show a significant improvement, and the effectiveness increased when carried out in conjunction with on-road driver training. Driving performance was improved through physical training, simulator training, and on-road driver training. Conclusion: The articles reviewed programs for various types of interventions. It is important for occupational therapy practitioners to provide an appropriate intervention for elderly drivers to improve their driving performance. Therefore, a variety of Korean training programs for driving rehabilitation are expected to be developed.