Dr Ranmalee Eramudugolla

The Auditory Ageing Study (AUDACIOUS)

Can you hear our call?!  Researchers at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and The University of New South Wales are studying how adults experience declines in their hearing, how this interferes with communication and their day-to-day lives.

What is the purpose of this study?

To investigate the relationship between age-related hearing decline and cognitive abilities in older adults.

What does the study involve?

If you are interested in this study you will be invited to our study site at NeuRA in Randwick to complete a two-hour interview.

The interview will include test of your hearing and cognitive functioning including app-based activities testing memory, learning and attention. You will also be asked to complete a questionnaire about your general health, hearing and daily lifestyle.

Who can volunteer?

You may be eligible to participate on our research if

• You are 65 years of age or older
• Are able to make your own way to our interview site at NeuRA in Randwick
• You have not experienced lifelong hearing difficulties
• You do not need to have hearing difficulties to participate in this study.

Will I be reimbursed?

Your participation in the study is totally voluntary. You will be reimbursed $30.00 for participating in the study.

Contact

If you would like to take part in this research study please contact

Ms Dominique Sepulveda

Phone: (02) 9399 1135

Email: audacious@neura.edu.au

Or register your interest and we will be in contact with you shortly:

Chief Investigator: Dr Kim Kiely

Phone: (02) 9399 1154

Email: k.kiely@neura.edu.au

Funding

The project is funded by the Dementia Australia Research Foundation (DARF)

Ethical approval

This study has been approved by the UNSW Human Research Ethics Committee.

HREC number: HC190216

The Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project 

The Personality and Total Health (PATH) Through Life Project is co-hosted by the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales and has been led by Professor Anstey since 2006. It is a large on-going population-based longitudinal cohort study comprising approximately 7500 participants. The study includes three cohorts including a younger (aged 20–24 at baseline), midlife (aged 40–44 at baseline) and older (aged 60–64 at baseline) adults randomly sampled from the electoral roll of the ACT and the nearby city of Queanbeyan. Additional waves of data collection have occurred in 4-year increments, with the 5^th wave of data collection underway. The study involves many national and international collaborations.

The broad aims of the PATH study relate to clinical outcomes that constitute the major burden of disease within the Australian community.

Primary PATH Objectives:

• To delineate the course of depression, anxiety, substance use and cognitive ability with increasing age across the adult life span
• To identify environmental risk, genetic risk and protective factors influencing individual differences in the course of these characteristics
• To investigate interrelationships over time between the three domains of: depression and anxiety, substance use, and cognitive ability and dementia
• To examine the mental health related impact of various personal, social and lifestyle transitions and events experienced by the different age cohorts, including infertility, fertility and pregnancy, changes in family structure, relationship formation and separation, menopause, and retirement.

Several design features of the PATH project contribute to its unique standing among population-based longitudinal cohort studies.

• Obtaining measures of genetic, biological (including MRI), psychosocial and lifestyle risk and protective factors for mental health and wellbeing
• Use of a narrow age cohort design with longitudinal follow ups as an optimal means of separating age and cohort effects
• Assessment of participants across the full adult lifespan, permitting investigation of developmentally significant, though under-studied periods such as midlife
• Recruitment and follow up of a young-old population, providing important pre-clinical data for studying the development of age-related changes in memory and cognition.

This project has been funded primarily by the National Health and Medical Research Council. Wave 5 40s and 60s follow-ups (led by Professor Kaarin Anstey) are funded by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research. 

For more information, please visit the study website at www.pathstudy.org.au. PATH participants can also contact the research team by phone on 1300 917 295.

The Driving, Ageing, Safety and Health (DASH) project

Older adults represent a growing sector of the driving population in Australia, and while driving can be important for maintaining social engagement in late life, age-related changes such as cognitive and visual impairment can impact on driving safety.

The Driving, Ageing, Safety and Health (DASH) project is designed to develop and validate screening measures for older drivers to support determinations of driving safety. The DASH project is a collaboration with Joanne Wood and the Queensland University of Technology.

Over 550 older drivers, across three groups, were followed for two years to evaluate how well laboratory assessments and an on-road test predict driving outcomes. The three groups included a) older drivers referred for assessment by GPs and Road Safety Authorities, b) older drivers with eye disease and c) older drivers drawn from the community.

Primary Aims:

• To validate a short screening battery for older drivers called the Multi-D based on the Multifactorial Model of Driving Safety, a theoretical model of the abilities involved in safe driving and knowledge of age-related changes in cognitive, visual and sensorimotor function
• To compare the Multi-D and existing screening approaches including Hazard Perception, Road Rules Knowledge, the Useful Field of View, and the Drivesafe tests to determine whether combining measures improves the accuracy of classification of safe and unsafe drivers.

Secondary Aims:

• To compare the efficacy of the Multi-D and other screening instruments in predicting prospective self-reported crash rates (derived from standardized monthly diaries) between three groups of older drivers
• To evaluate the screening instruments and assessments in relation to mobility outcomes (driving cessation, driving frequency, driving distance) over two years and longer pending further funding
• To collaborate with practitioners to develop clinical practice guidelines for using the Multi-D battery in the context of older driver assessment
• To inform the development and design of interventions to prevent injuries among older drivers.

Findings from this research project will enable health professionals and licensing authorities to assist in their decision-making regarding the fitness to drive of older adults.

DASH is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Better Drive Program

Current road safety policy for at-risk older drivers involves ‘fitness to drive’ assessment and either license restriction or revocation. However, research indicates that there is no clear evidence that mandatory testing lowers crash rates amongst older drivers, and that driving cessation in older adults is associated with increased rates of depression, social isolation, and general health decline.

The Better Drive program includes a series of studies evaluating interventions to improve driver skill. Two trials have been completed to date.

Trial 1 used a two-arm randomised controlled trial (RCT) approach to investigate the efficacy of individually tailored driving refresher lessons against a group-based refresher course on on-road driving performance, safety and crash risk in older adults. Findings indicate that although classroom based road rules workshops for seniors can lead to improvements in on-road driving skill, the inclusion of tailored driving instruction can significantly enhance safety and reduce crash-causing on-road errors relative to classroom based workshops alone.

Trial 2 used a two group (training, no-contact control) non-randomised design to examine the transfer of computerised speed of processing (SOP) training gains to cognitive measures that are known predictors of driving safety in older adults. Findings indicate that SOP training effects can be achieved with self-administered, online training at home, with some transfer to other known cognitive predictors of driving safety. However, differential effects of training may be observed for tasks requiring goal-directed search strategies rather than diffuse attention.

A third trial is currently underway. This trial uses a three-arm randomised controlled trial approach to assess the effectiveness of computerised cognitive training and tailored on-road skills training on driver safety in older adults. Data collection for this trial will be completed in 2019.

The Better Drive program has been funded by the NRMA Road Safety Trust.