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Updated: May 8, 2026

Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults
Published on: February 8, 2019
Wandering in a dementia special care unit: behavioral aspects and the risk of falling
Doron Merims1, Havazelet Nahari, Giora Ben-Ari
1Dementia Special Care Unit, Shoham Geriatric Medical Center, Pardes Hanna, Israel. Doronm@Shoham.health.gov.il
Background:
Wandering is a common phenomenon among patients with dementia. While traditionally considered to be a behavioral problem, it also includes fundamental aspects of motor performance (e.g., gait and falls).
Objectives:
To examine the difference in motor function and behavioral symptoms between patients with severe dementia who wander and those who do not.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective study reviewing the medical records of 72 patients with severe dementia, all residents of a dementia special care unit. Motor and behavioral aspects were compared between "wanderers" and "non-wanderers."
Results:
No difference was found in motor performance including the occurrence of falls between the wanderers and non-wanderers. A significant difference was found in aggressiveness and sleep disturbances, which were more frequent among the wanderers. There was no preference to wandering at a certain period of the day among the patients with sleep disturbances who wander.
Conclusions:
In a protected environment wandering is not a risk factor for falls. Sleep disturbances and wandering co-occur, but there is no circumstantial association between the two symptoms.
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