An article on the MPDI website argues that more attention should be paid to the role of wayfinding in healthcare facilities.
The downloadable article offers an overview of the relationship between environmental psychology and healthcare facility design, then 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, the article said.
These are joined by emerging technologies as a way to enhance theoretical knowledge of wayfinding and advance its applications for users.
Users with cognitive and/or visual challenges and cross-cultural comprehension are discussed.