UF researcher to develop public health model for safe older driving

A University of Florida professor has received funding to develop a public health model for addressing the issue of safe driving in the elderly.

Sherrilene Classen, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions’ department of occupational therapy, received a $490,000 career development grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Classen will research and develop a public health intervention plan to promote safe older driving during the three-year research project.

The UF occupational therapy department is home to the National Older Driver Research and Training Center, a federally funded project aimed at helping older people remain independent as long as possible. Classen’s project will complement the existing older driver research agenda by adding a population-based model.

“Unless we use an integrated approach, grounded in a unifying public health model, we will not have taken the adequate steps to understand how behavioral, ecological, health education, administrative, policy and regulatory strategies may promote safe elderly driving,” Classen said. “Continued neglect of these needs, accompanied with the graying of America, could sharply increase the number of older people killed in crashes and leave many more injured and disabled.”