Aim: This aim of this study was to determine the construct and predictive validity of the New South Wales Visual Recognition Slide Test (VRST)--a component of the occupational therapy off-road driving rehabilitation program designed to assess the abilities of speed of information processing and visual scanning.
Methods and results: Twenty-six people with stroke were used to test construct validity, and 24 people with stroke were used to test predictive validity. Performance on the VRST was compared to scores on the Visual Scanning Analyser (VSA) and Response Time Measures (RTM) to determine construct validity. Predictive validity was examined by comparing VRST scores to the result on an on-road driving assessment.
Results/conclusions: Results on the VRST was associated with on-road result, with it predicting those people recommended to pass or require lessons from their on-road evaluation. Scores from the VRST were associated with an inspection time component of the RTM, but not with the VSA, suggesting the VRST is an assessment of the identification phase of information processing but not of scanning or peripheral vision. The VSA, in particular the scanning task of field 5, was significantly related to the on-road result. These results indicate that the VRST is potentially a valid measure to use in the off-road driver rehabilitation program for people with stroke; however, validation is required on a larger population. The VSA should be further evaluated for consideration of inclusion in the driver rehabilitation program.