When walking becomes wandering

Representing the Fear of the Fourth Age

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2249207
AutoresKatherine Brittain (Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Northumbria University UK, autor de correspondencia), Cathrine Degnen (0000-0002-7893-8678, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology Newcastle University UK), Grant Gibson (0000-0003-0750-3850, School of Applied Social Science Stirling University UK), Claire Dickinson (0000-0002-9019-6013, Institute of Health and Society Newcastle University UK), Louise Robinson (0000-0003-0209-2503, Institute of Health and Society Newcastle University UK)
Año2017
Volumen39
Número2
Páginas270-284
Fecha de publicación2017-02-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.12505
PMID28177148
OpenAlexW2527896726
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas37

Dementia is linked to behavioural changes that are perceived as challenging to care practices. One such behavioural change is 'wandering', something that is often deeply feared by carers and by people with dementia themselves. Understanding how behavioural changes like wandering are experienced as problematic is critically important in current discussions about the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. In this article we draw on our secondary analysis of qualitative interviews and focus groups with carers of people with dementia to critically question 'when does walking become wandering'? Drawing on theoretical perspectives from anthropology, sociology and human geography to explore experiences of carers and of people with dementia, we argue that a conceptual shift occurs in how pedestrian activity, usually represented as something purposeful, meaningful and healthy (walking) is seen as something threatening that needs managing (wandering). We demonstrate how this shift is connected to cultural assumptions about the mind-body relationship in both walking and in dementia. We further argue that the narratives of carers about wandering challenge the notion of 'aimless' walking in the fourth age. This is because, as these narratives show, there are often pronounced links to specific areas and meaningful places where people with dementia walk to

Dementia · Narrative · Older people · Sociology · Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues · Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research · Medicine · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies · Psychology · Gerontology