Emotional Design in Chinese Hospital Waiting Spaces: An Empirical Study based on KANO-AHP

This study explores the application of emotional design in hospital waiting spaces, aiming to enhance patients' overall satisfaction and psychological comfort.By integrating the KANO model and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), key elements of emotional experience within waiting spaces were identified and analyzed.The research sample included 12 patients and design experts, and the reliability of the data was validated through significance analysis.First, the KANO model was used to classify design elements in hospital waiting spaces, revealing varying impacts of these features on patients' emotional experiences.Then, the AHP method was employed to analyze the importance weights of these elements in detail.The findings indicate that design elements in waiting spaces can be divided into basic elements (D1, D2, D5, D9), expected elements (A1, D4, D7, D8, E1), and attractive elements (A3, D3, D6, E2).Among them, D5 (health and safety management facilities), E1 (privacy protection), and E2 (intelligent health interaction devices) have particularly significant impacts on patients' emotional experiences.Optimizing these key elements can effectively improve patients' psychological comfort and overall satisfaction.This study not only provides theoretical and empirical support for the design of hospital waiting spaces but also suggests that future designs should focus more on addressing patients' emotional needs to create a more human-centered environment.