Introduction Persons living with dementia are at risk of becoming lost. When a person is returned home safely after a missing incident, an interview with the person or care partner may identify ways to prevent repeat incidents. It is not known if these interviews are being conducted for this population. Objectives: The purpose of this review was to understand return home interviews and whether they are being used with persons who have dementia. Methods Scholarly and grey literature were searched in 20 databases. Articles were included from any language, year, study design if they included terms resembling “return home interview”, “missing,” “lost,” or “runaway”. Results Eleven articles in scholarly, and 94 in grey literature sources were included, most from the United Kingdom. The majority of academic (55%) and grey (61%) articles were related to missing children, and none were specifically about persons living with dementia. Interviews were typically conducted within 72 hours after a missing person was returned, and by police or charitable organizations. The main reasons were to understand the causes of the incident and confirm the missing person’s safety, identify support needs, and to provide support to reduce repeat missing incidents. Conclusion Existing reasons for interviews can also apply to persons with dementia. This review informs future research on return home interviews. It also informs community organizations, and police services interested in adopting this practice with persons living with dementia. Evaluations would confirm if these interviews can reduce repeat incidents and help keep people with dementia safe.

Previous studies have found that semantics, the higher-level meaning of stimuli, can impact multisensory integration; however, less is known about the effect of valence, an affective response to stimuli. This study investigated the effects of both semantic congruency and valence of non-speech audiovisual stimuli on multisensory integration via response time (RT) and temporal-order judgement (TOJ) tasks [assessing processing speed (RT), Point of Subjective Simultaneity (PSS), and time window when multisensory stimuli are likely to be perceived as simultaneous (temporal binding window; TBW)]. Through an online study with 40 participants (mean age: 26.25 years; females = 17), we found that both congruence and valence had a significant main effect on RT (congruency and positive valence decrease RT) and an interaction effect (congruent/positive valence condition being significantly faster than all others). For TOJ, there was a significant main effect of valence and a significant interaction effect where positive valence (compared to negative valence) and the congruent/positive condition (compared to all other conditions) required visual stimuli to be presented significantly earlier than auditory stimuli to be perceived as simultaneous. A subsequent analysis showed a positive correlation between TBW width and RT (as TBW widens, RT increases) for the categories that were furthest from true simultaneity in their PSS (Congruent/Positive and Incongruent/Negative). This study provides new evidence that supports previous research on semantic congruency and presents a novel incorporation of valence into behavioural responses.

The number of people living with dementia that wander and go missing is increasing. First responders and service providers play a role in the return of a missing person living with dementia. In the United Kingdom (UK), “return home interviews” are discussions between police and returned missing persons that offer support to the returned missing person to prevent repeat incidents. This study aims to explore and understand the role of first responders and service providers who follow-up with returned missing persons living with dementia. Eight service providers (e.g., social workers) and seven first responders (e.g., police officers) from Canada and the UK participated in online semi-structured interviews. Data were concurrently collected and analyzed using conventional content analysis. In the UK, police conduct “return home interviews” within 72 hours of the missing person’s return. Some charities conduct interviews with vulnerable populations to prevent repeat missing incidents by understanding the circumstances of the missing incident and connecting the person to community supports. In Canada, although follow-up with returned missing persons is not routine, some police units offer support to returned missing older adults. Government and community support organizations also offer supports to returned missing older adults such as referrals for in-home support, technologies, and vulnerable person registries. Service providers and first responders have an important role to play in the prevention of repeat missing incidents. Findings will contribute to the development of a Canadian practice guide for conducting interviews with returned missing persons living with dementia.

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Persons living with dementia are at higher risk of getting lost and going missing. The adverse outcomes of missing incidents are stressful for persons living with dementia and those who care for them. This study aimed to identify and describe the perspectives of persons with dementia, caregivers and community support organizations on risk factors. Generic qualitative description informed our methods. We conducted 30 virtual interviews with persons who live with dementia, professional and family caregivers and community support organization representatives. We used a card sort to elicit and describe perspectives on the importance of 27 risk factors commonly associated with missing incidents in persons living with dementia. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to content analysis to determine the presence of relevant words, themes, and concepts. Participants reported multiple experiences of a person going missing, impressions, and suggested relationships between factors such as environmental contexts. The most critical risk factors associated with getting lost and going missing were cognitive impairment, unmet needs, and inadequate concentration of services and resources. In contrast, race, education, and gender were perceived as unimportant pertaining to risk factors related to missing incidents in persons living with dementia. An understanding of the perceived importance of risks associated with missing incidents enhances a person-centered approach to addressing unmet needs, services and resources that balances quality of life with maintaining safety.