Wandering into the future: reconceptualizing wandering ‘A natural and good thing’

Abstract

There is still significant scope for improvement in knowledge on wandering in dementia and in the care of persons with dementia who wander. Although progress in research-derived knowledge is evident over the last 15 years, the current state of practice is influenced by an immature research base where the clarification of what wandering is still needs to be achieved. This is fuelled by research which to date, has framed wandering as a problem behaviour and generally starts from the premise that it needs to be prevented or severely controlled. People with dementia may think and feel differently about wandering, as will be suggested in this paper. The voices of those who have experiential expertise of dementia and wandering need to be included in the debate on wandering to influence both nursing research and practice. In regard to the practice context, it is suggested that there is little evidence to suggest that screening for wandering, assessment of wandering, person-centred and evidence-based care planning and interventions or evaluation are yet the norm for older persons with dementia. Thus, these areas must be the priorities for the immediate future. Whilst at a theoretical level, there are three key issues that require attention in the future: the orientation of research on wandering including reconceptualizing wandering to address the lack of theoretical frameworks to explain wandering, addressing the need some care settings might have with application of research and recognition of the experiential expertise of older persons with dementia.