The Stroke Drivers Screening Assessment (SDSA) was developed as part of a research programme on driving skills after stroke (Nouri 1991). In the development, stroke patients who wished to resume driving were given a battery of cognitive tests and tested on the road by a professional driving instructor. Disciminant function analysis was used to identify those tests that best predicted driving performance on the road (Nouri, Tinson & Lincoln 1987, Nouri and Lincoln 1992). These tests were compiled together as the Stroke Drivers Screening Assessment (SDSA). The predictive value of the SDSA was compared with existing assessment procedures. The SDSA was significantly better than routine assessments, involving advice from general practitioners and the DVLA, at identifying those who were found to be unsafe to drive on the road (Nouri & Lincoln 1993). The SDSA was designed to be used as a screening tool for identifying cognitive problems, which may affect a person’s safety to drive. The SDSA is usually administered to stroke patients who wish to resume driving at a time when they are considered to have recovered to a point when they could be assessed on the road. This is usually between 1 and 6 months after stroke. Patients who have hemianopia, visual neglect, poor acuity, epilepsy or other conditions, which preclude driving, were excluded from the original validation studies and therefore assessment on the SDSA is not appropriate for them. The validation was only conducted on stroke patients who had previously been driving and who were assessed on the road in a car. There is no information available to indicate whether the SDSA can be used to predict ability to drive other vehicles or to learn to drive. (Author/publisher)
Abstract