Wandering behaviour of persons with dementia in Korea: investigation of related factors.
OBJECTIVE
Despite being identified as a significant clinical phenomenon, wandering of persons with dementia (PWDs) has not been studied in Korea. As an initial trial, various factors chosen from the literature for their predictive relationships to wandering of Korean PWDs were evaluated in this study.


METHODS
A total of 160 PWDs residing in 14 long-term care facilities participated in this study. The Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), Physical Activities of Daily Living (PADL) and Korean-translated Revised Algase Wandering Scale (Nursing Home version) (KRAWS-NH) were used to assess participants' degree of cognitive impairment, functional ability and wandering behaviour on six dimensions: persistent walking (PW), specific patterns (SP), spatial disorientation (SD), escape behaviour (EB), attention shift (AS) and negative outcomes (NO). Demographic, personal and environmental data were also collected.


RESULTS
The MMSE score was a significant negative predictor for KRAWS-NH overall and subscales except for EB; while age, PADL and history of falls were positive predictors for SD and NO. Total number of residents in a room was a significant negative predictor for EB and AS.


CONCLUSIONS
Different factors found in PWDs may contribute to different aspects of wandering behaviour. Further studies on factors influencing multiple facets of wandering in various cultural settings are warranted.
Song
Jun-Ah
JA
Korea University College of Nursing, Seoul, Korea. jasong@korea.ac.kr
Lim
Young Mi
YM
Hong
Gwi-Ryung Son
GR
D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003221:Confusion / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*