Wayfinding in Healthcare Facilities: Contributions from Environmental Psychology

Abstract

The ability to successfully navigate in healthcare facilities is an important goal for patients, visitors, and staff. Despite the fundamental nature of such behavior, it is not infrequent for planners to consider wayfinding only after the fact, once the building or building complex is complete. This review argues that more recognition is needed for the pivotal role of wayfinding in healthcare facilities. First, to provide context, the review presents a brief overview of the relationship between environmental psychology and healthcare facility design. Then, the core of the article covers advances in wayfinding research with an emphasis on healthcare environments, including the roles of plan configuration and manifest cues, technology, and user characteristics. Plan configuration and manifest cues, which appeared early on in wayfinding research, continue to play a role in wayfinding success and should inform design decisions. Such considerations are joined by emerging technologies (e.g., mobile applications, virtual reality, and computational models of wayfinding) as a way to both enhance our theoretical knowledge of wayfinding and advance its applications for users. Among the users discussed here are those with cognitive and/or visual challenges (e.g., Down syndrome, age-related decrements such as dementia, and limitations of vision). In addition, research on the role of cross-cultural comprehension and the effort to develop a system of universal healthcare symbols is included. The article concludes with a summary of the status of these advances and directions for future research.

Exploring Hospital Wayfinding Systems: Touchscreen Kiosks, Apps and Environmental Cues

“…Nielsen's (1994) ten heuristics are well known and have been in practice for years yet we found multiple instances of poor system usability in violation of these rules, causing the participant frustration and/or confusion. People visiting hospitals who experience the frustration of a poor interface or receive confusing or incomplete directions from a wayfinding system experience increased stress (Devlin, 2014). Users that experience many obstacles will abandon the technology and search for another source of information.…”

Redesain Sign System Pada Kawasan Obyek Wisata Yang Informatif Sebagai Usaha Untuk Membangun Citra Tempat

“…Dikarenakan ditempatkan di luar ruang, maka pemasangan mengambil jenis freestanding pada satu tiang (single-posted ground mounted) Adapun piktogram merupakan gambar visual sebagai pengganti teks untuk mempercepat pemahaman dalam menyampaikan informasi Piktogram harus memiliki keseragaman visual, dibuat jelas dan sesederhana mungkin agar dapat menyampaikan suatu pesan yang jelas [1]. Dengan kata lain bahwa piktogram harus dirancang sesederhana mungkin agar audiences dapat dengan cepat memahami maksud dari piktogram tersebut dengan jelas tanpa menimbulkan persepsi yang ambigu [1]; serta dimengerti lintas budaya [9]. Kebutuhan untuk merancang piktogram yang mana mampu mengomunikasikan sesuatu dengan cepat pada orang-orang yang beragam bahasanya pada fasilitas wisata ini sudah ada sejak tahun 1960an [10].…”

Color Coding and Thematic Environmental Graphic Design in Hermina Children’s Hospital

“…In a hospital, the information provided can include things such as a hospital floor directory, registration flow, and children's health information. Carpman, Grant & Simmons [8] argue that healthcare facilities need a coordinated wayfinding system because the easiness or difficulty of wayfinding affects stress.…”