State the problem Hospital wayfinding is a critical component of healthcare facility quality, influencing not only operational efficiency but also user experience, service quality, and patient safety. Although the literature on hospital wayfinding has expanded considerably, previous studies have largely examined environmental, cognitive, human-centered, and optimization factors independently, leaving the interactions among these dimensions insufficiently explained.
The aim of the study to systematically identify and synthesize the factors influencing hospital wayfinding and to develop an integrated human-centered conceptual framework.
The research method A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. Relevant studies were. retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. After screening and quality appraisal, 23 eligible studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and comparative analysis. The findings indicate that effective hospital wayfinding emerges from the interaction of four major dimensions: environmental factors, cognitive processes, human-centered design principles, and route optimization strategies. Environmental characteristics influence movement behavior through spatial perception, cognitive mapping, and cognitive load, while human-centered design functions as the integrative mechanism connecting these dimensions. Based on these findings, this study proposes a novel conceptual framework in which route optimization is conceptualized as an outcome of successful human-centered design rather than merely an operational objective.
Conclusion The study contributes to the literature by redefining the structure of factors influencing hospital wayfinding, introducing an integrated conceptual framework that bridges environmental, cognitive, and performance dimensions, and providing a theoretical foundation for future empirical research and evidence-based human-centered hospital design.