The Informal Caregivers' Perception of Wandering
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2011
Keywords
Alzheimer’s disease, wandering, dementia, caregivers, perception, lost, missing incident
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1177/1533317511432731
Abstract
Although the term wandering is routinely used by clinicians, researchers, and informal caregivers (ICs), the meaning of this term varies depending on the source of the definition and the context in which it is used. The purpose of this study was to examine the terms ICs used to describe different scenarios that have been identified in literature as “wandering,” determine their perception of risk, and compare their definitions of wandering with the perspectives of researchers. Structured interviews were conducted with 128 ICs of older adults with dementia. Informal Caregivers rarely used the term wandering to label different scenarios that had been previously identified in the literature as wandering. Responses to a survey of 17 wandering experts did not reflect agreement on a definition for wandering. These findings suggest that a broad set of terms should be used to describe this potentially dangerous behavior when health care providers communicate with ICs.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias, v. 26, issue 8, p. 616-622
Scholar Commons Citation
Houston, Amy M.; Brown, Lisa M.; Barnett, Scott D.; and Rowe, Meredeth, "The Informal Caregivers' Perception of Wandering" (2011). Nursing Faculty Publications. 22.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/nur_facpub/22
