School of Design and Community Development, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA.
School of Architecture, Clemson University, SC, USA.
HERD. 2022 Jul;15(3):206-228. doi: 10.1177/19375867211067539. Epub 2022 Jan 11.
Navigating large hospitals can be very challenging due to the functional complexity as well as the evolving changes and expansions of such facilities. Hospital wayfinding issues could lead to stress, negative mood, and poor healthcare experience among patients, staff, and family members.
A survey-embedded experiment was conducted using immersive virtual environment (IVE) techniques to explore people's wayfinding performance and their mood and spatial experience in hospital circulation spaces with or without visible greenspaces.
Seventy-four participants were randomly assigned to either group to complete wayfinding tasks in a timed session. Participants' wayfinding performances were interpreted using several indicators, including task completion, duration, walking distance, stop, sign-viewing, and route selection. Participants' mood states and perceived environmental attractiveness and atmosphere were surveyed; their perceived levels of presence in the IVE hospitals were also reported.
The results revealed that participants performed better on high complexity wayfinding tasks in the IVE hospital with visible greenspaces, as indicated by less time consumed and shorter walking distance to find the correct destination, less frequent stops and sign viewing, and more efficient route selection. Participants also experienced enhanced mood states and favorable spatial experience and perceived aesthetics in the IVE hospital with visible greenspaces than the same environment without window views. IVE techniques could be an efficient tool to supplement environment-behavior studies with certain conditions noted.
Hospital greenspaces located at key decision points could serve as landmarks that positively attract people's attention, aid wayfinding, and improve their navigational experience.
由于功能复杂性以及这些设施的不断变化和扩展，在大型医院中导航可能非常具有挑战性。医院寻路问题可能导致患者、员工和家属感到压力、情绪负面和医疗体验不佳。
本研究采用嵌入调查的实验方法，利用沉浸式虚拟环境（IVE）技术，探索人们在有或没有可见绿地的医院循环空间中的寻路表现、情绪和空间体验。
74 名参与者被随机分配到两组中的一组，以在限时会议中完成寻路任务。参与者的寻路表现通过几个指标进行解释，包括任务完成、持续时间、行走距离、停留、标志查看和路线选择。调查了参与者的情绪状态以及对环境吸引力和氛围的感知；还报告了他们在 IVE 医院中的存在感。
结果表明，参与者在有可见绿地的 IVE 医院中进行高复杂度寻路任务时表现更好，表现在找到正确目的地所消耗的时间更少、行走距离更短、停留和标志查看次数更少、以及路线选择更高效。与没有窗户景观的相同环境相比，参与者在有可见绿地的 IVE 医院中体验到了更好的情绪状态和更有利的空间体验以及感知美学。在某些条件下，IVE 技术可以成为补充环境-行为研究的有效工具。
位于关键决策点的医院绿地可以作为地标，吸引人们的注意力，帮助寻路，并改善他们的导航体验。
