home lighting. INTERVENTIONS TO PREVENT MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES Motor vehicle crashes involving older drivers are a growing concem, yet proven interventions to prevent these crashes and the resulting injuries are limited. One reason is that crashes are caused by a number of factors. Consider, for example, a single-vehicle crash that occurs at night, on a wet road. Two obvious contributing causes are limited visibility and slippery road conditions. In addition, the glare from headlights of an oncoming car makes the road difficult to see, causing the driver to temporarily look away from the road and thus fail to successftilly negotiate a curve in the road. The driver runs off the road but sustains only minor injuries, probably because she was wearing a safety belt. Scenarios such as this illustrate how, for older drivers, risk (nighttime glare problems among older adults are well documented, as are slowed processing speed and reaction times, two other contributing factors) and protective faaors (like use of a safety belt) are complex and interconneaed. It follows then that intervendons to prevent motor vehicle injury among older adults require a comprehensive approach. There are several promising areas for intervention. Screening and assessment of drivers can help identify those who are at higher risk of a crash, those who are in need of training to compensate for declines in ability (when possible), and those who are considered to be safe on the road. Tliese interventions could take the form of driver self-assessment, assessment by a physician or other professional, or assessment provided by the licensing system. Education can raise awareness of aging-related changes drivers may not recognize. Improvements to the road environment (in the form of signs that are easier to read or protected left-turn signals, for example) and vehicles (easy-to-read dashboard controls and other modifications) could help all drivers. And of course, alternative transportation options that are appropriate for and acceptable to older adults are necessary (Molnar, Eby, and Miller, 2003). INTERVENTIONS TO PREVENT SUICIDE Like the causes of motor vehicle crashes, the causes of suicide are complex and unlikely to be due to a single risk faaor. The exaa nature of associations between suicide among elders and psychological disorders (most notably depression), hopelessness, social isolation, physical health, and functional impairment is not well understood. While strong evidence for the effectiveness of most interventions aimed at preventing suicide is lacking, there are at least places to begin while research continues (CDC, 1996; Conwell, 2001). Depression is the most common psychological disorder associated with suicide among older adults, and thus, recognition and treatment of depression are critical. Although studies have shown that many older people who commit suicide have recently seen a primary care provider, understanding and recognition of the signs and symptoms of depression as well as other suicide risk faaors such as hopelessness are not universal among primary care providers. It has been estimated diat approximately 30 percent to 50 percent of adults with diagnosable depression are accurately diagnosed by primary care physicians (Goldsmith et al., 2002). Improving the identification and treatment of depression among older adults in primary care settings is a promising area for intervendon research and evaluadon (Conwell, 2001; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001). FUTURE DmEcnoNS Injuries among older adults are a preventable public health issue. The three most common causes of injury death are falls, motor vehicle crashes, and suicide. While these causes, or mechanisms, of injury are quite different, they share common risk faaors. For example, depression has been shown to increase the likelihood of both suicide and fall-related hip fracture. Visual impairment is associated with falls and motor vehicle crashes. The declines in mobility from losing a driver's license can lead to social isoladon, which may in turn be a faaor in suicide. These shared risk feaors argue for a holisdc approach to injury prevention. Comprehensive interventions designed to affect multiple cavises of injury may be the most efficient way to reduce the public health burden of injury among older adults,