Wayfinding is the process of using spatial and environmental information to navigate to a destination. Think of it as knowing where you are in a building or environment, and knowing how to navigate to your desired location.
Deeper Dive
In health care settings, wayfinding is important for patients to know how to get to the right area for an appointment or procedure. Depending on why they are in the medical facility, they may be at a heightened state of anxiety, and require clear and frequent signage. The frustration that comes from getting lost is ranked among the top complaints by visitors to health care facilities. Simple signage every 30 feet or so is ideal, studies have shown.
More recently, some hospitals have been incorporating wayfinding tools into mobile applications, providing a digital hospital map displaying points of interest, and allowing users to navigate from one part of a hospital to another in real-time. Having the map features available online or at patient check-in kiosks for printout, also can be helpful depending on a person’s preference.