Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline for Wandering in Hospitalized Persons With Dementia

Chen, Ko-Xin MS, RN
Ko, Miao-Hsin MS, RN
Cotter, Valerie T. DNP, MSN, FAAN
Chang, Hui-Wen MS, RN
Lin, Jong-Ni PhD, RN
Wang, Jing-Jy PhD, RN, FAAN

^a Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University
^b Tainan City Government Tainan
^c Department of Nursing, Da-Yeh University, Changhua County, Taiwan
^d Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland

From Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University (K-XC, H-WC, J-JW), Tainan City Government (M-HK), Tainan, and Department of Nursing, Da-Yeh University, Changhua County (J-NL), Taiwan; and Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland (VTC).

Disclosure: The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

Funding: Funding was received from the National Science and Technology Council Taiwan (#109-2314-B-006-074-MY3)

Address correspondence to Jing-Jy Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN, Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, 1 University Road, Tainan, 70101, Taiwan; email: [email protected].

Received November 24, 2024

Accepted May 07, 2025

Journal of Gerontological Nursing 51(8):p 45-50, August 01, 2025. | DOI: 10.3928/00989134-20250515-03

Purpose

To develop clinical guidelines on managing wandering in hospitalized persons with dementia (PwD).

Method

The PICO framework and a scoping literature review were used for guideline development. Expert consensus was established using the Delphi method, followed by external and methodological reviews. The guideline was tested for clinical applicability in hospital wards.

Results

The guideline encompasses two topics and 33 recommendations, which were positively rated by external and methodological experts. Among 30 nurses who evaluated its clinical applicability, most recommendations were deemed easy to implement.

Conclusion

The guideline has the potential to enhance care quality for hospitalized PwD.