Evidence for implementing nonpharmacological interventions for wandering.

Wandering is among the most frequent, problematic, and dangerous comorbid behaviors in dementia or head injury. To summarize the emerging literature on nonpharmacological interventions used to control negative consequences of wandering, a systematic review of the literature was performed. The review included searching multiple electronic databases and hand searches of individual articles. The search yielded 31 articles that met established criteria. These articles then were classified into six categories: Subjective barriers, walking/exercise and other activities, specialized environments, behavioral techniques, music, and alarms. The literature varied widely in terms of theoretical soundness, methodological rigor, and clarity. The level of evidence supporting these interventions and implications for future study are discussed.