REVIEW article
Front. Med. Technol.
Sec. Regulatory Affairs
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmedt.2025.1323446
This article is part of the Research TopicHealthcare Technologies and Space: Therapeutic Built Environment as a Health Technology and Technologies for Improved Healthcare SettingsView all 16 articles
Enhancing the digital adoption in Healthcare Built Environments: A Framework for a Therapeutic User-Based Wayfinding System
Provisionally accepted
- Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The efficacy of wayfinding systems in healthcare settings holds significant implications for many users, including patients, visitors, and healthcare professionals. Traditional systems, anchor examples in spatial design principles, frequently overlook the variegated needs of individuals, especially those with physical and mental disabilities. This narrow focus culminates in a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to address the intricate diversity of user requirements, thereby compromising sensory spatial information that aids a user's real-time neurophysiological needs. To rectify this, the narrative review paper reviews the potential contribution of the ecology of wayfinding for understanding healthier wayfinding solutions. It proposes a paradigm shift towards a user-centric wayfinding model in healthcare facilities. Building on a nuanced understanding of the diverse needs and neurological factors affecting healthcare users, this paper describes and synthesises elements that adapt to the triangulation from the Human Activity Accessible Technology, (HAAT) to understand hospital users' wayfinding needs at a temporal to spatial level. Lastly, anticipating the novel conceptual framework to be considered a curb-cut effect for a therapeutic, user-based wayfinding system, beyond the assistive technology phenomenon. Adopting a humanistic lens, the framework aims to elevate the well-being and comfort of users by incorporating inclusion criteria into digital wayfinding systems. The paper concludes by identifying areas for future research to integrate user-based real-time capabilities into healthcare wayfinding technology, thereby aligning therapeutic objectives with an inclusive and supportive healthcare environment.
Keywords: wayfinding1, user-based2, Healthcare3, Built environment4, Wellbeing5
Received: 17 Oct 2023; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Garcia-Sterling, Farghaly and Pitt. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yasmin Garcia-Sterling, Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.