Occupational Therapy Interventions to Promote Driving and Community Mobility for Older Adults With Low Vision: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Abstract A systematic literature review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice to improve or maintain the driving performance and community mobility of older adults with low vision. The results of this review identified a limited number of articles—eight—that met the inclusion criteria. Identified intervention strategies included the use of bioptics or prisms, multidisciplinary vision rehabilitation for community mobility, driving simulator training, driver education programs, and orientation and mobility training. Evidence is insufficient for the effectiveness of these interventions in improving or maintaining the driving performance or community mobility of older adults with low vision. Key study limitations included heterogeneity of sample characteristics (age, type of vision impairment), lack of standardization of interventions (device type, time, intensity duration), and lack of standardized assessments to measure driving and community mobility. This evidence-based review is informative for discussion of practice, education, and research implications.