Kayla Stefanidis
The Australian Road Safety Study for Older Adults: The ROADSAFE Study Identifying neuropsychological correlates of fitness to drive in older adults
Award
The Co-Group Project Grant
Status
Completed
Start Date
1 May 2023
About the project
With Australia's growing ageing population, there is a clear and urgent need for the development of reliable and valid measures to screen older adults with cognitive decline for their fitness to drive. However, there are currently no guidelines or gold-standard assessment methods available to assess cognitive functions relevant for driving, and for identifying when patients with cognitive decline are no longer safe to drive.
Dr Kayla Stefanidis used sensitive measures of cognitive functions important for driving to determine the relationship between cognitive performance and driving performance in adults aged 60 years and older. Her goal was to identify a combination of cognitive measures that best predict driving capacity in this population. When tested on a hazard perception test and simulated highway drive, she found that attention and visuo-spatial working memory could predict driving performance.
This study will inform the development of an online cognitive screening tool that health professionals can use to identify older adults who require a formal on-road driving assessment. This will have critical implications for road safety. Dr Stefanidis plans to continue this research, conducting subsequent studies investigating cognitive correlates, such as cardiovascular disease and on-road driving performance in older adults.
Publications and presentations resulting from award
Stefanidis, K.B, Mieran, T., & Summers, M.J. (2025). Older adults' perspectives on annual medical assessments for driving: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Transport and Health, 42, 102047.
Stefanidis, K. B., Summers, M. J., & Clark, M. (2025). The assessment of cognitive function and medical fitness to drive in older adults: A qualitative study with general practitioners. Journal of Transport & Health, 42, 102020.
Stefanidis, K.B., Mieran, T., Schiemer, C., Freeman, J., Truelove, V., & Summers, M. J. (2023). Cognitive correlates of reduced driving performance in healthy older adults: A meta-analytic review. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 193, 107337.
Where are they now?
At the time of this award, Dr Kayla Stefanidis was employed as a Research Fellow within the Road Safety Research Collaboration Unit at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
