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New Dementia Guidelines

Strategies to Reduce the Risk of Getting Lost

Noelannah Neubauer is a University of Alberta PhD Candidate and AAG Edmonton Chapter Board Member. As part of her doctoral thesis, Noelannah created easy-to-use guidelines to reduce the risk that someone with dementia will get lost.  Noelannah worked in collaboration with:

  • Persons living with dementia
  • Care partners
  • Health-care professionals
  • Social workers
  • First responders
  • Community organizations
  • Alzheimer Societies

This collaboration gave voice to the concerns of those living with dementia and their caregivers in the community. The guidelines form a checklist focused on behaviours and circumstances to determine their level of risk of getting lost, such as:

  • whether the person with dementia lives alone
  • if they frequently become overwhelmed

Proactive Strategies and Guidelines

Proactive strategies, such as locating devices, are then matched to each level of risk. The guidelines exist in three different versions:

  1. For persons living with dementia at home – Guidelines for PWD – PDF
  2. For care partners that provide care in the community setting – Guidelines for Community Partners – PDF
  3. For care homes – Guidelines for Care Homes – PDF

You are invited to provide feedback on these guidelines by completing an online survey. This survey is found at:

SURVEY: USABILITY OF GUIDELINES FOR PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA AT RISK OF GETTING LOST