Catherine J. Kosinski-Gilfillan, MSW, Claire Wang, MD, and Joanne G. Schwartzberg, MD. Medicine and Public Health, American Medical Association, 515 N. State Street, Chicago, IL 60610, 312-464-4179, catherine_kosinski@ama-assn.org

In 2004, the American Medical Association implemented a national training program as part of its Older Drivers Project—a cooperative initiative with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to address the issue of older driver safety through the healthcare sector. The objectives of the program are to increase awareness of older driver safety issues and to provide physicians with tools and strategies for addressing this issue in clinical practice. The AMA developed an educational curriculum and invited multidisciplinary teams to attend a Training of Trainers Workshop. The teams consisted of physicians, occupational therapists, social workers and other professionals interested in older driver safety. Teams received slides and speaker’s notes corresponding to the following five areas: 1. Laying the foundation for older driver safety 2. Identifying and assessing the medically impaired driver 3. Referring the patient for driver assessment and rehabilitation 4. Counseling the medically impaired driver 5. Navigating the legal and ethical issues of patient reporting Each team committed to hosting 2 workshops for physicians and other healthcare professionals. At each workshop, participant knowledge and attitudes toward older driver safety were surveyed. Three to six months following each workshop, information was collected via mail surveys and key informant interviews. Surveys and interviews assessed participant knowledge and use of tools provided at the training workshop. This information was then analyzed to determine the program’s effectiveness in educating physicians, as well as to draw conclusions about the usefulness of the tools provided through this program.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will

• Understand the evaluation process of the AMA Older Drivers Training Program and how it might apply to other Training of Trainers programs. 2.Describe the effectiveness of the Older Drivers Training Program in terms of outcomes measures.
• Learn effective strategies, tools and resources for assessing and counseling older drivers as determined through the evaluation of the Program.

Keywords: Aging, Training

Related Web page: www.ama-assn.org/go/olderdrivers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.