Contrasting a Literature Review with Local Experience

Abstract People with dementia or other kinds of cognitive failure are at risk of getting lost when they are out walking. Depending on weather conditions, this is potentially a life-threatening risk. Electronic tracking is proposed as a tool to allow safe walking, and a help for the caregivers to locate a missing care recipient in the event of getting lost. Many trials of and inquiries into electronic tracking have appeared in recent years. This paper makes a preliminary literature review and reports on a local trial. There are interesting differences in the level of technical difficulties and the drop-out rates of users. A great benefit for many users, many obstacles make it hard to use the technology for others. Too little is known about when the technology is appropriate and how to make it work in practice. We discuss several directions for further research.