Optimizing equipment requirements and configuration rules for elderly home treatment environments: a rough set analysis framework

Ten valid rules were obtained, revealing multiple causal pathways for both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The dominant satisfaction pathway (Safety = 5 and Cost Control = 5) covered 45.37% of cases, whereas the main dissatisfaction pathway (Safety = 2 and Usefulness = 2) covered 35.71%. High safety and usefulness are key conditions, but their effects depend on combinations with cost, cultural, health, and policy-related conditions. Dissatisfaction, in contrast, is often triggered by low levels of basic conditions. These findings demonstrate causal complexity, equifinality, and asymmetry, extending configurational theory to the domain of home treatment devices and providing practical guidance for device design and policy development.