He, Y; Bai, W; Ye, Y; Guo, W; Wang, X and Zou, X (2025) A lean approach to enhance the visual experience during wayfinding in the emergency department spaces: a case study of a large-scale general hospital in China. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 21(4), pp. 642-664. ISSN 1745-2007
Abstract
The wayfinding experience in the healthcare environment significantly impacts patients' spatial cognition, mental health, and medical outcomes. However, patients often face challenges in wayfinding, encountering difficulties, and information gaps that result in negative emotions and decreased efficiency of medical services. This study proposes a Lean-led approach, coupled with eye-tracking simulation software analysis, to investigate the visual behavior of patients in the emergency department spaces and identify areas in medical environments that require improvement. The research methodology involves capturing images of 70 location nodes along the patient's route in ED spaces. Subsequently, the Lean tool, Value Stream Mapping, is employed to analyze the wayfinding process, dividing it into eight tasks and determining the visual information needs of patients during wayfinding. Moreover, the eye-tracking simulation software, 3M-VAS, is utilized to analyze the visual content of images and compare whether it meets the information needs of patients during wayfinding, thus identifying locations that require optimization. Finally, suggestions for optimization are proposed. The study identifies five types of visual environment problems during the wayfinding process and identifies 50 location nodes that need improvement, categorized into five types of visual environment issues. This paper explores how Lean theory can enhance the relevance of a patient-centered healthcare environment and introduces a methodology that connects hospital administrators and designers. However, this paper also has some limitations, such as the research scope, method, and angle, that need more exploration.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | emergency department spaces; eye-tracking simulation software; lean-lead method; visual behavior; wayfinding |
| Index terms: | wayfinding, mental health, research methodology, designer, value stream mapping, case study, efficiency, China, cognition, methodology, exploration, face |
| Subjects: | Geography, research methods, cognitive psychology, building performance, environmental resource management, psychology, performance management, health conditions and diseases, research design and methodology, business, profession, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Quality Management, Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Design Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here