Conceptual map and technological framework to manage dementia wandering

Abstract

Wandering is one of the most common disruptive behaviors in people with dementia (PWD). Dementia wandering is a subject of study and research in the field of gerontology for more than 3 decades. The topic has then drawn the attention of technologists and particularly computer scientists since early 2000. Though a number of solutions and applications have been proposed and implemented to manage wandering, not many are widely used in practice due to 2 reasons. First, technologists' understanding and perception of wandering do not align with those of gerontologists. This consequently lowers the chance of proposed solutions to be accepted for clinical applications. Second, most solutions do not address all the dimensions of dementia wandering. Few applications cater the needs of other stakeholders involved including caregivers, physicians and researchers. This paper aims to bridge the knowledge gaps between gerontologists and technologists. We first present a conceptual map of wandering science from the perspectives of gerontologists. Then we provide a framework which identifies main threads of technologies that can be further developed to manage dementia wandering. We hope that the conceptual map and technological framework will guide technologists in developing relevant and essential assistive solutions which are not only widely used in clinical practice but also address the needs of all the parties involved.