Exploring cultural perceptions of waiting area design features on mood and quality of care

Abstract

Healthcare organizations spend millions of dollars to improve the physical attractiveness of their facilities, particularly in more public areas such as lobbies and waiting rooms, however impacts of renovations on perceived quality of care is rarely measured (Becker & Parsons, 2007). This two-part study uses the servicescape lens to examine perceived impacts of waiting area design features on mood and quality of care with people from two different countries, Kuwait and the United States. The first part of the study used an electronic card sort to identify specific design elements (e.g. furnishings, lighting, interior architectural features,etc) that people associate with positive or negative mood. Positive mood associations informed three different servicescape approaches to the digital design of a waiting area: medical-focused, neutral/activating, and hospitality-focused. In part two of the study, a photorealistic rendering of each servicescape design was used for image elicitation during semi-structured interviews. Twenty adults (five females and five males from each country) were interviewed in their native language using online video-communications technology to share their perceptions of the experiences and quality of care they felt they would receive in each servicescape design. Findings suggest the importance of considering cultural differences when designing waiting areas, respect to atmospheres and affordances that support user's psychological, sociological, and physical needs, including colors, density, visual complexity, style, and spatial configuration.