Which is preferred: rollator or walker?

Good question!

The risk is that if the person gets tired, he or she may not have a place to sit down. That could put them at risk of falling.

Therefore, I would think it depends on the individual -- their stamina, surroundings, whether they're alone, etc.

I agree with you. My wife is in a memory care facility with a 7 resident to 1 staff ratio. I am told dementia is a progressive disease so what might be acceptable today may not be tomorrow.

@cuyler You’ve asked a good question. I’ve used both when I got my autoimmune disease. Each has its pros and cons. The walker ( with aluminum frame) can easily be folder up to fit in the car or placed out of the way. You need to have a “basket” on the front if you want to carry anything. The rollator is much bulkier and doesn’t fit in cars easily. One just needs to learn how to use it safely. My mother lived in a retirement facility and , I think, almost everyone there used a rollator. They decorated them to go with the seasons or holidays.
I’m also a nurse, so my ‘nurse self’ thinks that your mother is safer with a walker. If she’s not given a choice, just watch her closely to make sure she is safe.

I think the best answer is to look at the safety issues. Does the person have enough safety awareness to be up and about on a walker by him/herself? Or is a fall and a broken hip waiting to happen?
My husband has vascular dementia, he needs a walker for balance, but he is very impulsive and will start walking much too fast and not paying attention to where he’s going. His PT did not recommend a rollater as it would encourage him to wheel faster and faster. Also not recommended were the “ski-style skids” on the back legs of his walker (same issue with speed).
Due to his lack of safety insight and impulsiveness, what was recommended was a wheelchair with an “anti-rollback” device. I ordered both online from Walmart, and hired a Fix-it guy to attach the device to the wheelchair. When my husband stands up, the wheelchair stays put- he would never think to apply the brakes. He uses foot propulsion to buzz around the facility safely, is up and down independently for toileting, in/out bed, on/off his easy chair. I take him for walks when I visit, but I walk in front of him so he can’t speed up with the walker. Staff walks with him regularly too.
As the dementia progresses, you do find yourself needing to calculate the “least harm” with decisions needing to be made.

My friend has the same issue with her husband - ne dementia, just sheer impatience. After a fall in 2023, PT told him he needed a "more stable old-style" walker.
That is, the original my great uncles were using in the 1960's with 4legs and no wheels. It must be lifted and set down with each step. If your husband has the strength to do it, maybe it would slow him down to a safer speed - it worked with Mike - no falls since the change.
We also used one like it for my Grandma in the 1980's with tennis balls on the legs so she could "scoot" it along the floor at her pace.
I agree - it is all about adapting - sometimes from one day to the next. I am trying - long distance - to coach a partner who has never done this before in caring for my cousin. When she was a kid, Grandad described her as mule-headed and she hasn't changed!
Sue

I appreciate your comment that you, as a nurse, think a walker is safer. Trading off benefits and costs may be a constantly changing calculation as dementia progresses. We have had to deal with four falls in the past 2-3 years.

Voting in the Presidential election: In which county can/should my wife vote? The county in which she resides for the past year in a memory care facility, or the county in which she has been registered for the past 51 years? I would like to request an absentee ballot for her in the county in which she has been registered.