Improving OEF/OIF/OND Veterans’ Driver Fitness and Community Mobility: Effects of a One-Day Driving and Community Mobility Approach for Rural Settings

Principal Investigators

Sherrilene Classen

Department:

HP-OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Sherrilene Classen PhD

Professor And Chair

Keith Myers, PT, DPT, MBA

Co-Investigators

Sandra M Winter
Department: HP-OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Sandra M Winter PhD, OTR/L

Research Assistant Scientist
Nichole E Stetten
Department: HP-OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

Nichole E Stetten PhD, MPH, CPH

Research Assistant Professor

Project Personnel

Graduate Research Assistant

Isabelle Coppa Wandenkolk
Department: HP-REHAB SCI DOCTORAL PROGRAM

Isabelle Coppa Wandenkolk

GRADUATE AST-R

Research Assistant

Collaborators

Funding Source

Synopsis

Driving errors made by returning Veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation New Dawn (OND) is a critical Veteran safety and public health issue. Motor vehicle crashes (MVC) are the second leading cause of death among post-deployed combat Veterans. Interventions to mitigate driving errors and at-risk behaviors of post-deployed Veterans is paramount to improving their driving safety. Unfortunately, Veterans, especially those living in rural areas, face significant barriers to seeking and engaging in driver rehabilitation services. Embedding 1-day Driver Fitness and Community Mobility (DF+CM) workshops into rural-serving community organizations and VHA Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) can improve Veteran access to driver rehabilitation services in rural regions. This study will build on existing partnerships with Veteran-centered community organizations to identify at-risk OEF/OIF/OND Veterans who may not otherwise seek driving interventions or community mobility resources. This project makes an original and important contribution to the goal of advancing research on the detection of safe driving ability of Combat Veterans and understanding the personal experiences underlying their unsafe driving habits. This study will examine the feasibility of the DF+CM 1-day workshop and if successful driving mishaps (MVC and other adverse effects) in the community may be prevented by facilitating safe driving for rural Veterans.

project team collage
Team members: Drs. Sherrilene Classen, Sandra Winter, Nichole Stetten, and Ms. Isabelle Wandenkolk