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The purpose of this paper is to gain a greater understanding of the development of safer walking technology for people with dementia through contemporary literature.

A two stage systematic approach to searching the literature was adopted. Initially this involved searching the literature to gain a broad overview of the development of safer walking technology and the context in which it has been developed. Then, this literature was examined in detail to look at published evidence surrounding the use of safer walking technology by people with dementia. These articles were quality appraised and a meta ethnographic approach taken to synthesis of the findings.

There is a small but growing body of literature within this field. Whilst there is only limited evidence to support the use of safer walking technologies for people with dementia, the evidence to date indicates great potential for its use. If provided with the right support and guidance, safer walking technology has the potential to increase freedoms and independence for people with dementia; gaining them improved access to outdoor spaces and environments to support their health and wellbeing. However, if the safer walking technology continues to be associated with only risk management it will not achieve this potential.

The published literature within this field is small and has limited generalisability as much of it was generated in recent years has been by the same small research teams, often reusing data sets. There is also very little research that examines the experience of actually using safer walking technology and even less which explores the views of people with dementia. It is evident that a greater breadth and depth of knowledge is needed within this field to develop a clearer understanding of how this technology is used and perceived by all stakeholders concerned. In particular the literature would benefit from greater consideration of the views and experiences of people with dementia themselves.

For many people with dementia, health and social care professionals can play an important role in ensuring appropriate assessment and support in the decision-making process when using safer walking technology. However, greater support is needed in decision making for all people with dementia, especially those people not currently engaged with specialist services. Therefore greater awareness of the benefits and limitations of this technology is needed by all health and social care professionals as well as the general public.

At the time of conducting this review the author is unaware of any other systematic search of literature or overview of research on the use of safer walking technology and its use by people with dementia. Despite this safer walking technology is growing in popularity, commonly recommended by health and social care practitioners and often marketed and purchased directly by people with dementia and their families. This review offers an insight into the development of the technology and the current evidence base for its use.

The purpose this paper is to explore walking with purpose in extra care, retirement and domestic housing settings to better understand and support people living with dementia in these settings, develop recommendations and inform practice.

A mixed-methods study was used: scoping literature review; online survey of extra care and retirement housing managers in the UK; case studies involving interviews with staff and family carers (n = 14) of ten individuals who engaged in walking with purpose in the different housing settings.

Although residents who walk with purpose constitute a minority (0–2 residents), managing walking with purpose can be challenging and time consuming. Distraction or redirection was the most common response. Other strategies included identifying the resident’s motivations and accommodating their wishes or walking with them. Culture of care, staff training and dementia-friendly design are keys to effective support for safe walking with purpose. Responses to walking with purpose in the domestic housing settings have raised serious deprivation of liberty issues.

This study had a number of limitations. The completed survey questionnaires represent a self-selected sample of extra care and retirement housing settings, and responses are based on the perceptions of the staff members completing the survey. There were a relatively small number of case study sites (three extra care housing and three retirement housing), and it was not possible to interview family members for all of the residents who walked with purpose.

This study provides unique data on walking with purpose in extra care and retirement housing setting in the UK.

People with dementia are prone to persistent walking (also known as ‘wandering’). Walking can bring physical and psychological benefits, but people with dementia also walk because of anxiety or confusion. People with dementia are at risk of becoming lost or involved in accidents, and this raises concerns for them and their carers. Electronic surveillance and tracking, as a form of safer walking technology, can be used to monitor people's whereabouts and is being used in dementia care. The technology raises a number of practical and ethical issues. This article reviews the key themes and arguments surrounding its use, with a view to raising issues for further debate. The article shows the need to carefully balance people's freedom and rights, including the right to take risks, with care and safety concerns.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate some of the ethical issues and methodological obstacles encountered when trialling and using safer walking technologies and monitoring devices in dementia care.

Using a number of recent studies as examples statistical, methodological and ethical issues are illustrated, which impact on the feasibility of randomised controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs.

Much has already been achieved in using technology to aid people with memory and related problems. However, statistical evidence for the effectiveness of safer walking and monitoring devices in dementia care is still lacking. Careful considerations such as “treat the client as you would like to be treated” should be applied, when making a decision about a particular device.

Safer walking and monitoring technology for people with memory and related problems is a rapidly advancing field of research. This is an updated discussion on methodological, statistical and ethical issues.

Pedestrian injuries and deaths should be viewed as a critical public health issue. The purpose of this chapter is to show how incorporating safety from traffic into broader efforts to increase walking and physical activity has the potential to have a significant health impact. In this chapter we provide an overview of pedestrian safety considerations having to do with population health and the built environment. The chapter is organised around a conceptual framework that highlights the multiple pathways through which safe walking environments can contribute to improved population health. We review the existing literature on pedestrian safety and public health. Pedestrian safety will remain a vexing challenge for public health and transportation professionals in the coming decades. But addressing this problem on multiple fronts and across multiple sectors is necessary to reduce injuries and fatalities and to unleash the full potential of walking to improve population health through increased physical activity. This chapter uniquely contributes a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between the walking environment and public health.

There are many new devices and systems now available to help manage the risk of an individual becoming lost or disoriented when out walking, especially at night. Many use radio devices carried by, or worn by, users that communicate with receivers carried by carers. They generate alerts when the user goes out of range. Other intelligent devices are based on virtual sensors that monitor exits and generate alarms through a telecare system if the person leaves the property at an unsafe time and fail to return within a reasonable period. This approach is particularly useful when used in conjunction with a GPS location device carried by the individual. The latest technologies, which can be integrated into mobile phones, PDAs, wrist watches or key fobs, include a geofencing option that raises an alarm if the individual moves outside a defined zone of safety. The success of these technologies depends on a full assessment of the individual and their support mechanisms in order to determine the management of the devices and their batteries.

Many people with a cognitive impairment are likely to become lost at some stage of their illness; this can cause great distress to individuals and to their relatives. GPS location equipment has become available recently and has been trialled with a number of families. Although the technology itself is not complicated, it introduces a number of problems including battery management, device selection and returning the individual when they have become lost. A process has been developed to simplify these problems. When it is followed, the outcomes have been positive for all stakeholders.

An in-depth literature review was undertaken to uncover (1) what are described as the desired outcomes for 20 minute neighbourhoods (20MNs) – the normatively based ends which planners, architects and decision-makers want 20MNs to achieve; (2) the means (the mechanisms, levers, triggers and causal factors) that have to be correctly assembled and lined up for 20MNs to operate as intended and (3), in order to avoid naive environmental determinism, the behavioural changes required to support the operation of 20MNs even where the required configuration of means can be achieved. The content analysis was conducted following guidelines offered by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria.

Growing interest in the urban design concept of the “20MNs” has been greatly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been presented as a way of increasing the quality of local environments by enabling people to meet their daily needs through access to safe walking and cycling routes or by public transport. Internationally, it has captured the imagination of political decision-makers, built-environment practitioners and communities alike, as a life-affirming post-pandemic vision, held up as achieving environmental, health and economic improvements as well as reducing inequalities experienced by many. This paper's overall purpose is to separate the ends pursued in 20MNs from means available for achieving them.

The paper concludes that the ambition to see the 20MNs widely woven into existing urban, suburban and rural neighbourhoods will require significant effort to ensure all that all the component parts of, and key players in, planning's place-delivery systems are aligned and mutually supportive. Even where this can be achieved, further guidance will be needed on (1) how to operationalise the practical implementation of 20MNs and (2) how their success can be measured.

The originality of the paper lies in its efforts to discriminate between ends and means – between desired outcomes of 20MNs and the means available for achieving them. The significance of the paper lies here in this attempt to initiate a discussion on possible causal relationships between what is wanted and what would need to be done to achieve it. Without clarity about these relationships, misunderstanding, confusion and barriers to communication may arise across the many different organizations, stakeholder groups and actors involved. This lack of clarity could undermine trust and confidence, potentially undermining both the process and to its outcomes.

The Tilley Awards for Problem‐Oriented Policing ‘recognise and reward the most intelligent, courageous and effective approaches to dealing with the problems police encounter on the streets’ (Home Office website). They are open to the police and crime and disorder reduction partnerships. Entrants have to submit a description of their project and its achievements. One winning entrant's submission is reproduced here, and the next two issues will feature the other winners' submissions.