Managing Wandering Risk in People With Dementia

In many societies, the prevalence of dementia is increasing, posing many challenges, not least for carers. Wandering is a common symptom of dementia, potentially compromising the safety of the person with dementia and constituting a traumatic experience for carers. Thus, there is a need for services that help carers anticipate and manage the inherent risk of wandering while maintaining an appropriate equilibrium between the rights of carers, those with dementia, and indeed society, from a privacy, safety, and duty of care perspective. This paper reports on a usability analysis of one such system that seeks to aid carers manage and alleviate the risk implicit in wandering episodes.