Getting Lost in People With Dementia: A Scoping Review

Backgrounds: Many people with dementia suffer from getting lost, which not only impacts their daily lives but also affects their caregivers and the general public. The concept of getting lost in dementia has not been clarified in the literature. Purpose: This scoping review was designed to provide a deeper understanding of the overall phenomenon of getting lost in people with dementia, with the results intended to provide caregivers with more complete information and enlightening research and practice related to dementia getting lost. Methods: A systematic review method was used, and articles were retrieved from electronic databases including PubMed, Embase, Airiti Library, Cochrane Library, and Gray literature. Specific keywords, MeSH terms, and Emtree terms were used to search for articles on dementia and getting lost. A total of 10,523 articles published from 2011-2020 that matched the search criteria were extracted. After screening the topics and deleting repetitions, 64 articles were selected for further analysis. These articles were classified and integrated based on the six-step literature review method proposed by Arksey and O’Malley. Results: The key findings of the review included: (1) The concept of getting lost in dementia is diverse and inseparable from wandering; (2) More than half of the assessment tools related to getting lost in dementia include the concept of wandering; (3) The factors identified as affecting getting lost in dementia include the patient’s personal traits, disease factors, care factors, and environmental factors; (4) Getting lost in dementia negatively affects patients as well as their caregivers and the general public; (5) Most of the articles in this review were quantitative studies and were conducted in Western countries. Conclusions/Impl icat ions for Pract ice: The scopi ng review approach may assist care providers to ful ly underst and the phenomenon of get ting lost in dementia, clarify its causes and consequences, and identify t he limitations in the literature. The findings may be referenced in the creation of healthcare policies promoting related preventive measures and care plans as well as used to guide future academic research.