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People with Dementia Who Go Missing: A Qualitative Study of Family Caregivers Decision to Report Incidents to the Police

Walking and exercising are an important part of living well with dementia. People with dementia may have an inability to recognize familiar places, find a familiar location, or become disoriented and are more likely to become missing. The aim of this article is to identify what factors influence family caregivers of people with dementia reporting them missing to the police. We used a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews of 12 family caregivers of people with dementia in UK. We identify four factors that inhibit family caregivers from reporting a missing person incident to the police and three factors that prompt family caregivers to call the police. We discuss implications for improved policy and practices by law enforcement agencies, social services, health services, and non-government organizations.

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Key Information

Type of Reference
Jour
Type of Work
Journal article
Publisher
Oxford university press
ISBN/ISSN
1752-4520
Publication Year
2019
Issue Number
2
Journal Titles
Policing
Volume Number
13
Start Page
241
End Page
253