Subjective barriers to prevent wandering of cognitively impaired people (Cochrane Review)

A substantive amendment to this systematic review was last made on 05 September 2000. Cochrane reviews are regularly checked and updated if necessary.

Background: People with dementia often wander, at times putting themselves at risk and presenting challenges to carers and institutional staff. Traditional interventions to prevent wandering include restraint, drugs and locked doors. Cognitively impaired people may respond to environmental stimuli (sounds, images, smells) in ways distinct from healthy people. This has led to trials of visual and other selective barriers (such as mirrors, camouflage, grids/stripes of tape) that may reduce wandering.

Objectives: We assess the effect of subjective exit modifications on the wandering behaviour of cognitively impaired people. The second objective is to inform the direction and methods of future research.

Search strategy: The CDCIG Specialized Register was searched on 15 May 2002 with the aim to update the review. No new studies were found in comparison with the last search carried out on 4 August 2000. The same search terms were used: exit*, wander*, camouflage, bars, stripe*, grid*, floor*, door*, barrier*, elopement, ambulat*

Selection criteria: Randomized controlled trials and controlled trials provide the highest quality evidence, but interrupted time series are also considered as they may contribute useful information. Participants are people with dementia or cognitive impairment who wander, of any age, and in any care environment - hospital, other institution, or their own home.Interventions comprise exit modifications that aim to function as subjective barriers to prevent the wandering of cognitively impaired people. Locks, physical restraints, electronic tagging and other types of barrier are not included.

Data collection and analysis: The criteria for inclusion or exclusion of studies are applied independently by two reviewers. All outcomes that are meaningful to people making decisions about the care of wanderers are recorded. These include the number of exits or carer interventions, resource use, acceptability of the intervention and the effects on carer and wanderer anxiety or distress. heterogeneity of clinical area, of study design and of intervention was substantial.

Main results: No randomized controlled or controlled trials were found. The other experimental studies that we identified were unsatisfactory. Most were vulnerable to bias, particularly performance bias; most did not classify patients according to type or severity of dementia; in all studies, outcomes were measured only in terms of wandering frequency rather than more broadly in terms of quality of life, resource use, anxiety and distress; no studies included patients with delirium; no studies were based in patients' homes.

Reviewers' conclusions: There is no evidence that subjective barriers prevent wandering in cognitively impaired people.

Citation: Price JD, Hermans DG, Grimley Evans J. Subjective barriers to prevent wandering of cognitively impaired people (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2003. Oxford: Update Software.

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This is an abstract of a regularly updated, systematic review prepared and maintained by the Cochrane Collaboration. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).

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