Wandering in Alzheimer's dementia patients.

The purpose of this research was to describe wandering behaviors of institutionalized patients with Alzheimer's disease in their natural environment. Such descriptive information is necessary before successful product and/or nursing intervention programs can be developed. Videotaped behavioral observations yielded detailed data descriptive of patients with middle and late dementia. These patients have the physical ability to perform various functions, activities, or actions; the individual's mental ability is less supportive of physical ability. The degree of task simplicity required to enable the patient to complete unsupervised tasks depends on the level of dementia. The need for interventions is greatest during unstructured periods of the day.