This statement should not surprise anyone but does serve as confirmation for what we all know. In a study involving over 15,000 cognitively impaired nursing home patients, researchers from the International Research Consortium on Wandering found that one in five were prone to aimless wandering through nursing home facilities, putting themselves at increased health risk.
Adverse outcomes associated with wandering include an increased incidence of weight loss, fatigue, sleep disturbance, getting lost, injuries as a result of falling and untimely death. This study confirms the need for close supervision of residents suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease in order to prevent elopement, falls, and other risks.
Read a more detailed article on this report from Medical New Today.
Read more articles like this one by visiting the American Geriatrics Society.