Mapping the maze of terms and definitions in dementia-related wandering.

Objective: An operational definition of dementia-related wandering is proposed to aid in clinical recognition, to promote research precision and validity, and to provide a pathway toward standardization of language in wandering science.

Methods: (1) One-hundred-and-eighty-three journal articles from multiple databases (Medline, OVID, CSA Journals, OCLC First Search, Google Scholar, PubMed, EBSCO) were reviewed to extract alternative terms and definitions for wandering or wandering-related behaviours; (2) terms and definitions were ordered alphabetically into a glossary; (3) a consensus approach was used to group glossary terms with related meanings into possible domains of wandering; (4) four domains (locomotion, drive, space and time) were found sufficient to encompass all wandering definitions; (5) wandering terms were placed into a conceptual map bounded by the four domain concepts and (6) a new provisional definition of wandering was formulated.

Results: An empirically-based, operational definition improves clinical and research approaches to wandering and explicates historical inattention to certain beneficial aspects of the behaviour.

Conclusions: Adoption of the proposed operational definition of wandering behaviour provides a platform upon which dementia care may be improved and standardized language may evolve in wandering science.