Dangerous wandering: Elopements of older adults with dementia from long-term care facilities

Abstract

Wandering is a commonly observed behavior among older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other types of dementia. When wandering around becomes wandering away, older adults with dementia are at high risk of injury. This exploratory, qualitative study described the circumstances, environmental risks, and injuries sustained in 62 elopements from long-term care facilities by elderly residents with dementia. Content analysis of the reports of the elopements identified patterns that included: 1) a lack of effective precautions to prevent elopement when residents had indicated an intent to elope, had repeatedly attempted to elope, or had a history of elopement; 2) a lack of awareness by the staff of resident location; and 3) ineffective use of alarm devices intended to alert staff to elopement attempts.