Abstract:
Although wandering in dementia is seen in various cultures, cross-cultural comparisons
have not been reported. We examined wandering in residents of long-term
care settings (LTCs) in three English-speaking countries (n = 96, America; n = 42,
Canada; n = 13, Australia) using the Algase Wandering Scale-Version 2 (AWSV2).
Participants differed by country on age and medical diagnosis. The Americans
were significantly older; the Canadians had a greater rate of Alzheimer's disease
(AD). In one-way ANOVAs, AWS- V2 ratings from nurse aides revealed significant
differences in the AWS- V2 and three subscales (spatial disorientation, attention
shifting, eloping behavior), but not for two others (persistent walking, shadowing).
Where significant, Canadians had consistently lower ratings than others. Post-hoc
analyses by age of participants failed to reveal significant differences. However,
participants with AD had significantly lower AWS- V2 scores than those with mixed-type dementia. Lower MMSE score predicted higher AWS-V2, spatial disorientation,
and eloping behavior. Post-hoc analyses of respondent characteristics
revealed no significant differences on AWS-V2 or subscales by frequency of
attending dementia classes and level of experience with dementia. Thus the nature
of wandering in these three countries is not substantially different. However, variations
in care environments may contribute to differences in attention shifting. Further,
limited sample size, particularly among Australians and Canadians, make
findings tentative.
