Anita M. Myers

Distinguished Professor Emerita

​Cross appointment with the Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo

Contact information

Email: amyers@uwaterloo.ca

Education

PhD Psychology (York University)

Credentials

Crendentialed Evaluation

Fellow: Canadian Evaluation Society and Gerontological Association of America

Teaching interests

Health Program Evaluation, Aging, Health and Well-being

Research interests

Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the driving population which raises safety concerns as this group is disproportionately involved in fatal, at-fault collisions per distance driven. Concerns for public safety, however, must be balanced against the costs of population level, age-based screening, the onus on physicians to report at-risk patients, and needs of older adults for continued, independent mobility (including environmental design and access to public transportation). Addressing these issues requires a multi-faceted, collaborative approach for both research and knowledge mobilization.

For instance, I have assisted the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario in evaluating and revising their Senior Driver Renewal Program which is mandatory for all drivers in Ontario every two years once they reach the age of 80. I also led a project which compared  licensing policies and procedures for regulating medically-at-risk and older drivers across Canada. We then used web-based technologies to promote and evaluate the utilization of a website containing both Canada and US polices. Several of my graduate students have conducted studies on the self-regulatory driving practices of both healthy older drivers and those with neurological disorders (such as Parkinson’s disease), using in-vehicle devices including GPS. As part of the Candrive team of researchers, we are conducting an ongoing prospective cohort study of drivers aged 70 and over. This multi-centre study funded by CIHR, which began in 2009 in nine Canadian cities, and subsequently added sites in  Australia and New Zealand, in unique in size (over 1,200 participants recruited), duration and scope. While one of our primary objectives is to develop a clinical decision-rule for identifying at-risk drivers (suitable for use in physician’s office), this study also enables us to address other important research questions. A related initiative funded by CIHR-CCNA involves developing and evaluating an intervention for drivers with dementia and their caregivers to facilitate the decision to stop driving and support the transition to non-driving. Together with Drs. Bigelow, Crizzle and other researchers at UW, we are also working on a project for Transport Canada focusing on improving the health and wellness of commercial motor vehicle drivers (truck and bus).  

Major funding sources

Major awards

  • Contribution to Evaluation in Canada and Contribution to Gerontology

Selected publications

  • Myers A.M. Program Evaluation for Exercise Leaders.  Champaign IL: Human Kinetics. 1999. 
  • Crizzle, A.M., Myers, A.M., Roy, E., Almeida, Q.J. Associations between falls, balance confidence, driving speed, braking and other driving practices in Parkinson’s disease. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 2015 in press.
  • Koppel, S., Charlton, J.L., Langford, J., Di Stefano, M., MacDonald, W., Vlahodimitrakou, Z., Mazer, B., Gelinas, I., Vrkljan, B., Eliasz, K., Myers, A., Tuokko, H., Marshall, S. The relationship between older drivers’ performance on an on-road driving task, functional abilities, perceptions of driving comfort and abilities and self-reported driving restrictions. Canadian Journal on Aging, 2015 in press.
  • Pprter, M.M., Smith, G.A., Cull, A.W., Myers, A.M., Bedard, M., Gelinas, I., Mazer, B., Marshall, S., Naglie, N., Rapoport, M., Tuokko, H., Vrkljan, B.H. Older driver estimates of driving exposure compared to in-vehicle data in the Candrive II study. Traffic Injury Prevention, 2015; 16 (1): 24-27. DOI:10.1080/15389588.2014.894995
  • Jouk, A., Tuokko, H., Myers, A., Marshall, S., Man-Son-Hing, M., Porter, M.M., Bedard, M., Gelinas, I., Mazer, B., Naglie, N., Rapoport, M., Vrkljan, B. Psychosocial constructs and self-reported driving restriction in the Candrive II older adult baseline cohort. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 2014; 27: 1-10.
  • Tuokko, H., Jouk, A., Myers, A., Marshall, S., Man-Son-Hing, M., Porter, M.M., Bedard, M., Gelinas, I., Korner-Bitensky, N., Mazer, B., Naglie, N., Rapoport, M., Vrkljan, B. A re-examination of driving-related attitudes and readiness to change driving behavior in older adults.  Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 2014; 32(3): 210-227.
  • Vrkljan, B.H., Myers, A.M., Crizzle, A.M., Blanchard, R.A., Marshall, S. Evaluating medically at-risk drivers: A survey of assessment practices in Canada. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2013; 80(5): 295-303.
  • Crizzle, A.M., Myers, A.M., Roy, E., Almeida, Q.J. Drivers with Parkinson’s disease: Are the symptoms of PD associated with restricted driving practices? Journal of Neurology, 2013; 260 (10): 2562-2568.
  • Marshall, S., Man-Son-Hing, M., Bedard, M., Charlton, J., Gagnon, S., Gelinas, I., Koppell, S., Korner-Bitensky, N., Langford, J., Mazer, B., Myers, A.M., Naglie, N., Polgar, J., Porter, M., Rapoport, M., Tuokko, H., Vrkljan, B., Woolnough, A. Protocol for Candrive II/Ozcandrive, a multicenter prospective older driver cohort study.
    Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2013; 61: 245-252.
  • Rapoport M.J., Naglie, G.,Weegar, K., Myers, A.M., Cameron, D., Crizzle, A.M., Korner-Bitensky, N., Tuokko, H., Vrkljan, B., Bedard, M., Porter, M., Mazer, B., Gelinas, I., Man-Son-Hing, M., Marshall, S. The relationship between cognitive performance, perceptions of driving comfort and abilities, and self-reported driving restrictions among healthy older adults. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2013; 61: 288-295.​
  • Langford, J., Charlton, J., Koppel, S., Myers, A.M., Tuokko, H., Marshall, S., Man-Son-Hing, M., Darzins, P, DiStefano, M. Findings from the Candrive/Ozcandrive Study: Low mileage older drivers, crash risk and reduced fitness to drive. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2013; 61: 304-310.​
  • Tuokko, H., Myers, A., Jouk, A., Marshall, S., Man-Son-Hing, M., Porter, M., Bedard, M., Gelinas, I., Korner-Bitensky, N., Mazer, B., Naglie, G., Rapoport, M., Vrkljan, B.  Associations between age, gender, psychosocial and health characteristics in the Candrive II cohort study. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2013; 61: 267-271.​
  • Hickey, A., Weegar, K., Yara, K., Gagnon, S., Marshall, S., Myers, A., Tuokko, H., Bedard, M., Gelinas, I., Man-Son-Hing, M., Mazer, B., Naglie, N., Porter, M., Rapoport, M., Vrkljan, B. The impact of subclinical sleep problems on self-reported driving patterns and perceived driving abilities in a cohort of active older drivers. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2013; 61: 296-303.​
  • Crizzle, A.M., Myers, A.M. Examination of naturalistic driving practices in drivers with Parkinson’s disease compared to age and gender-matched controls. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2013; 50: 724-731.
  • Crizzle, A.M., Myers, A.M., Almeida, Q.J. Self-regulatory practices of drivers with  Parkinson’s disease: Accuracy of patient reports. Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, 2013; 19: 176-180.

Selected professional activities and networks

For more information about my research, please visit my research page.