Caregivers Journey Through Experiences of People Living with Dementia and History of Wandering Behaviour: An Indian Case Series

Wandering is one of the major behavioural symptoms of dementia contributing to increased caregiver burden. Understanding the caregivers’ challenges help the mental health professionals to develop a feasible care plan relevant to Indian context. To explore the caregivers’ experience of managing wandering behaviour among persons with dementia. Three case studies were selected from the family caregiver population and who made efforts to manage wandering behaviour in person with dementia. Interview method was used to understand the experience of caregivers. The mean age of the caregivers was 49 years, mean age of the persons with wandering in dementia was 73 and mean duration of illness was 2 years. All the three caregivers used supervision and locking the doors of their houses as key strategies to prevent the wandering behaviour among the persons with dementia. Other prominent strategies were seeking community support and listing out the destinations in which the person is found commonly. Keeping an identity card, planned activities of daily living, restricted movement, safety planning and division of caregiving responsibility were also applied in management of wandering by family caregivers. Caregivers experience significant challenges in managing wandering behaviour. Many of them could manange wandering behaviour with the support of available resources in community. Additional training and support would enhance the quality of caregivers’ life.