Smart Room Design for Dementia Nursing Home Based on Kano-AHP-QFD Integrated Methodology

Background: With the growing demand for dementia-friendly care environments, existing smart room designs often lack systematic methods to translate user needs into functional solutions. Objective: This study proposes an integrated Kano Model, Analytic Hierarchy Process, and Quality Function Deployment (Kano-AHP-QFD) framework to optimize the design of smart living rooms for dementia patients in nursing homes. Method: Through literature reviews and user interviews, 22 user requirements were identified and categorized using the Kano model. The AHP was then employed to prioritize these requirements, with “behavior recognition (e.g., falls, wandering)” emerging as the top priority, assigned a weight of 0.3622. Subsequently, the QFD method translated these weighted requirements into design functions via the House of Quality, resulting in a set of optimized smart living room designs. Results: The study demonstrates that the integration of Kano-AHP-QFD provides a structured and data-driven approach to systematically address the complex needs of dementia patients, enhancing the scientific rigor and practicality of smart room design. User satisfaction scores improved from 61.655 to 80.663 after implementing the optimized smart living room designs. Conclusions: The proposed framework offers valuable insights for designers, care providers, and policymakers aiming to improve the quality of life for elderly individuals with dementia. It is also applicable to various cognitive impairment care scenarios such as rehabilitation centers and assisted living facilities, and can provide scientific references for the environmental design of other special user groups.