Home Based Attentional Training for Older Adults

DESCRIPTION: Many older adults experience declines in sensory and cognitive function, resulting in increased difficulty with everyday activities. One activity, crucial to maintaining independence, is driving. Mobility is critical for social contacts and a satisfying quality of life, and mobility loss frequently results in need for formal care. Therefore, effective methods for extending safe mobility could have far-reaching consequences. The focus of the proposed research is to evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based intervention program to enhance the cognitive functions needed to drive safely, and to perform other instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Prior work has resulted in a laboratory based training program, which is currently used by employers, Departments of Motor Vehicles, and many health care professionals. This program is used for both driver screening and to provide cognitive training to improve the skills needed for safe mobility. The Phase I application demonstrated the feasibility for a home based intervention, and Phase II aims to produce the videotapes and examine their effectiveness relative to the laboratory based training program. This product, if demonstrated to be effective, would provide a low cost, convenient means for distributing this intervention to a broader segment of the population than would otherwise be served. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: NOT AVAILABLE