Effectiveness of the Kano-AHP-TRIZ-TOPSIS integrated model for analyzing the healthcare emergency facility needs of the older adults

Background This study focuses on the inadequate population aging adaptation of community emergency facilities under the backdrop of global population aging, which makes it difficult to support treatment of older adults within the “golden time” for sudden emergencies such as cardiogenic sudden death, stroke, and falls. Study design A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2024 to April 2025 in three typical old communities in Xuhui District, Shanghai: Huali Yuan, Meilong Village 1, and Meilong Village 2. Using 351 structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, the functional needs and usage barriers of older adults and caregivers regarding community emergency facilities were systematically collected. A Kano-AHP-TRIZ-TOPSIS integrated method framework was constructed to classify 19 needs by medical attributes, rank them by clinical priority, and resolve design contradictions. Results An population aging community health emergency station prototype was ultimately developed. The study results showed that a “minimal emergency call mechanism” and a “clear visual and voice guidance system” were the core basic needs for older adults, with the “minimal emergency call” having the highest overall weight (0.410). Based on TRIZ theory, key conflicts related to functional integration, operational simplicity, and barrier-free space were effectively resolved. TOPSIS evaluation indicated that the overall performance of this prototype was significantly superior to that of traditional facility samples ( C i = 0.894 compared to the sample C i = 0.167). Conclusion This study demonstrates that the Kano-AHP-TRIZ-TOPSIS integrated model can be used to systematically convert complex user needs into design elements with priorities, and provides methodological support for the construction of prototypes of emergency stations in population aging communities. The proposed prototype achieved high overall preference under the evaluation context set in this study, showing design potential in emergency response, ease of use, and medical coordination. Moreover, the relevant results are mainly based on small-scale expert and user evaluations, reflecting the relative preference of the prototype scheme rather than direct evidence of actual application effects at the community level.