Adults' Visual Cue Preferences and Wayfinding Abilities in Healthcare Centers

Physical and visual elements that help people find their way around an environment are called visual cues (VCs). The current study aims to evaluate adults' wayfinding abilities (navigation, orientation, spatial anxiety, and distance estimation) and VC (navigational color coding) preferences in terms of color and position; additionally, investigates their differences in adults' life span phases (young adults, early middle-aged adults, and late middle-aged adults).

Wayfinding in complex environments such as healthcare centers has been challenging for most people. Although VCs are being used increasingly to facilitate wayfinding, considering people's preferences regarding VCs, especially navigational color coding, are neglected.

Obtained data from a survey of 375 healthcare center visitors with textual and photo questionnaires were analyzed by descriptive statics and one-way analysis of variance.

Young adults preferred VCs with "mixed colors and positioned in the middle of the floor," early middle-aged adults preferred "warm color VCs in the middle of the wall," and late middle-aged adults preferred "warm color VCs at the bottom of the wall." Additionally, the results demonstrated that with aging, navigation and distance estimation abilities deteriorate, and spatial anxiety increases.

The outcomes of the present study increase our knowledge regarding the impact of adults' life span phases on their wayfinding abilities and VC preferences and offer suggestions for architects and healthcare center stakeholders to provide environments that improve adults' wayfinding.