SAGE Journals
Browse

Color Coding the “Labyrinth”: How Staff Perceived a Two-Part Intervention to Improve Wayfinding in an Adult Emergency Department

Posted on 2021-03-13 - 13:10
Objectives, purpose, or aim:

We report a two-part wayfinding intervention, considering four quality criteria (visibility, usability, efficiency and overall effectiveness) from staff perspectives.

Background:

Few studies to date have explored wayfinding in the Emergency Department (ED). Yet, as ED usage continues to grow, effective wayfinding in these high-stress, fast-paced environments is likely to become increasingly important. At an adult ED located in the U.S. Southeast, wayfinding has been a persistent problem. We subsequently developed a two-part wayfinding intervention: colored routes to key destinations in the ED and corresponding visitor badges.

Methods:

Quality criteria were formulated using the Donabedian model: visibility (structure), usability (process), efficiency (process), and overall effectiveness (outcome). Assessments consisted of staff surveys, which were distributed from March to early April 2019.

Results:

The strong ratings across quality criteria, added to affirmative comments from staff, provide evidence that the color coding system made a positive impact on wayfinding.

Conclusions:

While the results should be generalized with caution, the two-part intervention may be highly portable to other contexts. Future studies might examine the effect of colored routes alone. They might illuminate relations between structure, process, and outcomes as they relate to the assessment of wayfinding. They might also expand wayfinding quality criteria. Ultimately, such studies should improve not only the productivity but also the accessibility and user experience of the ED.

CITE THIS COLLECTION

DataCite
3 Biotech
3D Printing in Medicine
3D Research
3D-Printed Materials and Systems
4OR
AAPG Bulletin
AAPS Open
AAPS PharmSciTech
Abhandlungen aus dem Mathematischen Seminar der Universität Hamburg
ABI Technik (German)
Academic Medicine
Academic Pediatrics
Academic Psychiatry
Academic Questions
Academy of Management Discoveries
Academy of Management Journal
Academy of Management Learning and Education
Academy of Management Perspectives
Academy of Management Proceedings
Academy of Management Review
or
Select your citation style and then place your mouse over the citation text to select it.

SHARE

email
need help?