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Reliability of the Washington University Road Test. A performance-based assessment for drivers with dementia of the Alzheimer type
Hunt LA, Murphy CF, Carr D, Duchek JM, Buckles V, Morris JC.. Archives of neurology, 1997-06-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Objective To assess the reliability and stability of a standardized road test for healthy aging people and those with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). Design A prospective study involving patients with DAT and age-matched healthy controls in which subjects' driving performance was evaluated by several raters in an initial and a follow-up road test. Setting Urban medical school and urban highways and streets. Subjects A convenience sample of 58 controls, 36 subjects with very mild DAT, and 29 subjects with mild DAT. Results Analysis of road test ability of controls (2 subjects [3%] failed the test), very mild DAT subjects (7 subjects [19%] failed), and mild DAT subjects (12 subjects [41%] failed) disclosed a significant association between driving performance and dementia status (chi 2[4] = 20.65 [N = 123]; P < .001; Kendall tau-b = 0.306). Interrater reliability for assessment of driving performance ranged from kappa = 0.85 to 0.96. One-month test-retest stability on the road test was 0.76 (quantitative scoring) and 0.53 (clinical judgment). Conclusions Dementia adversely affects driving performance even in its mild stages, although some persons with DAT seem to drive safely for some time after disease onset. A traffic-interactive, performance-based road test that examines cognitive behaviors provides an accurate and reliable functional assessment of driving ability.
Key findings
- Results Analysis of road test ability of controls (2 subjects [3%] failed the test), very mild DAT subjects (7 subjects [19%] failed), and mild DAT subjects (12 subjects [41%] failed) disclosed a significant association between driving performance and dementia status (chi 2[4] = 20.65 [N = 123]; P < .001; Kendall tau-b = 0.306).
Study details
- Participants123
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 45 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Archives of neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1997 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 123 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9193205) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 26 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 26 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 45 out of 100. |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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APA 7th
Hunt, L. A., Murphy, C. F., Carr, D., Duchek, J. M., Buckles, V., & Morris, J. C. (1997). Reliability of the Washington University Road Test. A performance-based assessment for drivers with dementia of the Alzheimer type. Archives of neurology. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1997.00550180029008
Vancouver
Hunt LA, Murphy CF, Carr D, Duchek JM, Buckles V, Morris JC. Reliability of the Washington University Road Test. A performance-based assessment for drivers with dementia of the Alzheimer type. Archives of neurology. 1997. doi:10.1001/archneur.1997.00550180029008. PMID: 9193205.
BibTeX
@article{hunt1997-9193205,
author = {Hunt, L. A. and Murphy, C. F. and Carr, D. and Duchek, J. M. and Buckles, V. and Morris, J. C.},
title = {{Reliability of the Washington University Road Test. A performance-based assessment for drivers with dementia of the Alzheimer type}},
journal = {Archives of neurology},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1001/archneur.1997.00550180029008},
pmid = {9193205},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1997.00550180029008}
}
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