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Wandering Eyes: Using Gaze-Tracking Method to Capture Eye Fixations in Unfamiliar Healthcare Environments
Hessam Ghamari1, Nasrin Golshany2
1229132California State University, Northridge, CA, USA.
HERD
|September 3, 2021
Summary
People navigating complex healthcare environments primarily focus on identifying and informative signs, along with architectural features. Signage significantly influences gaze fixation during wayfinding in these settings.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Healthcare Design Research
Background:
- Replicates a 2018 study on eye fixation during healthcare wayfinding.
- Investigates visual attention in complex, unfamiliar indoor healthcare settings.
- Examines environmental attributes influencing navigation behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key environmental elements attracting visual attention during wayfinding in healthcare facilities.
- To quantify the time spent fixating on different visual elements.
- To understand the role of visual attributes in healthcare navigation.
Main Methods:
- Employed eye-tracking technology to record gaze fixations.
- Participants (24 adults) navigated five randomized routes of varying difficulty.
- Data collected in a complex indoor healthcare environment.
Main Results:
- Identifying signs (29.1%) and informative signs (20.8%) were the most gazed-at elements.
- Architectural features attracted 11.3% of gaze.
- Four signage types accounted for 62.3% of total gaze fixation time.
Conclusions:
- Findings show significant similarities to previous research on eye fixation during wayfinding.
- Visual attention in healthcare navigation is heavily directed towards signage and architectural cues.
- Signage is a critical component for effective wayfinding in healthcare environments.
