INDICATE
Research type
Research Study
Full title
INDICATE - Introduction of an oNline cognitive battery for fitness to Drive In mild Cognitive impAirmenT and dEmentia
IRAS ID
328279
Contact name
Michael Hornberger
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Cognitive/thinking changes are the hallmark of dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Most people associate memory problems with dementia, but other cognitive changes, such as spatial disorientation, are also highly common. These cognitive changes can affect the fitness to drive and road traffic incident risk for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia. However, there remains very poor knowledge regarding the impact of cognitive changes on fitness to drive and the future risk for road traffic incidents in Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia.
The current project will try to rectify this shortcoming by building on our previous DECISION study. DECISION established a normative cognitive data set in over 1,000 older, healthy drivers, which can now be used as a benchmark for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia. We have now partnered with Driving Mobility, the official driving assessment provider of the DVLA, who will use our tests as part of their cognitive assessment for people with Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia across their 17 UK assessment centres. People attending Driving Mobility centres will undergo the current ‘gold standard’ of cognitive testing and on-road driving assessment; following that they will be asked to participate in our study completing our online cognitive tests and driving questionnaires. Importantly, we will conduct follow-up testing after a 12-month delay to determine whether cognitive changes are predictive of future road traffic incidents in this population.
The project will allow us to determine whether our innovative, specifically designed cognitive tests for driving are feasible to use in Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia. It will further allow validation of our findings against existing cognitive tests and on-road assessments. Finally, it will allow us to determine which specific cognitive deficits and their level of impairment in Mild Cognitive Impairment and dementia are associated with a reduced fitness to drive and road traffic incident risk.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EM/0148
Date of REC Opinion
16 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion