4.1. Improvement of Driving Ability
crashes
CORONAVIRUS INFECTION
This study aimed to investigate the potential of maintaining or improving driving ability through practicing healthy exercises and physical activities among older community members facing driving ability decline. Twelve weeks of healthy exercise practice resulted in an improvement in overall driving ability assessment scores. These findings indicate that appropriate health exercise practices positively affect the maintenance or improvement of driving abilities. However, there were no significant differences in the advancements of the individual evaluation components of “cognition”, “judgment”, and “operation”, respectively.Furthermore, we compared and examined the results of TMT measurements measured in this study with those of a previous study using TMT measurements in healthy older participants [Kamide et al. examined the relationship between physical function and driving ability among older drivers in 48 adults under the age of 65 (mature and middle-aged groups) and 18 older drivers aged over 65 years, and reported that physical function was independently related to cognitive function in the driving ability of older drivers [Additionally, healthy exercise among older adults has been reported to have various positive effects on health indicators among older adults. Several direct positive effects of physical fitness indicators have been reported. Filipe et al. reported that regular health exercises for 24 weeks safely and effectively improved functional fitness in community-dwelling older adults [This study was based on the following hypothesis: healthy exercise and physical activity among older adults in the community will improve physical function, especially physical fitness, and maintain or improve driving ability. The 12-week intervention of practicing healthy exercise and physical activity significantly improved some physical functions and physical fitness compared to the control group C. It was also confirmed that overall driving ability was significantly improved compared to that of group C. Thus, healthy exercise and physical activity practices may be effective for maintaining and improving older adults’ driving abilities.Several studies have examined the relationship between motor skills and driving ability. Chen et al. investigated the functional range of motion of the neck and the history of driving crashes [In the current intervention, healthy exercise and physical activity practices significantly improved two items within the E-group compared to the C-group: the one-leg open-eye balance test and the 30 s chair standing up test. These specific evaluations address the body’s static and dynamic balance abilities [Karthaus et al. described driving as requiring the interaction of sensory, motor, and cognitive functions and reported a methodology for assessing driving ability from the perspective of age-related changes in physical functions [However, there have been many recent reports on social frailty in older adults [The need to provide opportunities for human interaction and social participation has been reported even in situations where interaction with others has become difficult owing to the new coronavirus infection [Healthy exercise and physical activity are not only effective in directly maintaining and improving physical function and fitness. From the perspective of maintaining and improving driving ability, they can lead to continued social interactions and social participation behaviors in older adults. Driving ability maintained through healthy exercise is not merely a means of transportation, but is also related to the prevention of social frailty and has the potential to contribute to improving health-related quality of life in older adults.One fundamental future perspective is to establish a more practical and clinical methodology for maintaining and improving driving ability among older adults by clarifying the effects of health exercises and combined interventions.