Navigational Needs and Preferences of Hospital Patients and Visitors: What Prospects for Smart Technologies?

Abstract

In this paper, we map navigational needs and preferences of patients and visitors to evaluate the appropriateness of a smartphone navigation application in the hospital in contrast to other, more traditional navigational cues. We test the effects of sociodemographic variables (age, gender, education) on wayfinding strategies and preferences of respondents (using chi2 tests). Empirical research is based on the survey among 928 patients/visitors of the Vítkovice Hospital in Ostrava, Czechia. We found a relatively weak association between gender and wayfinding—no major differences between men and women in navigational preferences were found. Age was the most important predictor of wayfinding. Respondents in the over-60-year age group were characteristic of a lower interest in changes of the navigational system and low willingness to use mobile applications for navigation—people between 41 years and 60 years were the biggest supporters of changes. Correspondingly, demand for improvement of navigation (including a mobile application) was positively correlated with educational level.

Attitudes toward the design of Islamic mobile shopping apps in Turkey: the case of hijab clothing mobile apps from the perspective of conservative consumers

“…Similarly, Wang et al ’s (2009) findings showed that gender has not statistically significantly affected attitudes toward mobile apps. Moreover, the findings of Ženka et al (2021) revealed no difference in attitudes toward mobile apps of Czech consumers by gender.…”

A bibliometric analysis of published literature on healthcare facilities' wayfinding research from 1974 to 2020

“…People's age and gender influence their wayfinding strategies and behaviors ( Morag et al., 2016 ). One study shows that people over 60 years have a lower willingness to use mobile apps for navigation, and the need for improved navigation (including mobile apps) positively correlates with education level ( Ženka et al., 2021 ). People's educational background and knowledge structure also have an impact on wayfinding behaviors ( Morag et al., 2016, ), and different cultural backgrounds result in differences in the comprehension of the wayfinding visual aid such as healthcare symbols ( Joy Lo et al., 2016 ; S Lee et al., 2014 ; Wendy T. Olmstead, 1999 ).…”

Research on Evaluation Method of Wayfinding Signs in Medical Institutions Based on Mobile Network Intelligent Navigation

“…In order to cope with the sequential nature of the medical treatment process, the spatial logical order of the public space of the hospital has been formed, and different spaces have been set up in different levels. Hospital public space is divided into a public center system, a public subsystem, and a connection system connecting the two according to the medical treatment process from high to low [9,10]. As shown in Figure 1, the logical order is arranged according to the relationship of reason, which conforms to the law of people's understanding of things.…”