title: Using a Discrete Choice Conjoint Experiment to Engage Stakeholders in the Design of an Outpatient Children's Health Center.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To engage users in the design of a regional child and youth health center.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The perspective of users should be an integral component of a patient-centered, evidence-based approach to the design of health facilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a discrete choice conjoint experiment (DCE), a method from marketing research and health economics, as a component of a strategy to engage users in the preconstruction planning process. A sample of 467 participants (290 staff and 177 clients or community stakeholders) completed the DCE.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Latent class analysis identified three segments with different design preferences. A group we termed an enhanced design (57%) segment preferred a fully featured facility with personal contacts at the start of visits (in-person check-in, personal waiting room notification, volunteer-assisted wayfinding, and visible security), a family resource center with a health librarian, and an outdoor playground equipped with covered heated pathways. The self-guided design segment (11%), in contrast, preferred a design allowing a more independent use of the facility (e.g., self-check-in at computer kiosks, color-coded wayfinding, and a self-guided family resource center). Designs affording privacy and personal contact with staff were important to the private design segment (32%). The theme and decor of the building was less important than interactive features and personal contacts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A DCE allowed us to engage users in the planning process by estimating the value of individual design elements, identifying segments with differing views, informing decisions regarding design trade-offs, and simulating user response to design options.
authors.affiliation: 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niccols
authors.affiliation: 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rimas
authors.affiliation: 2 Child and Youth Developmental and Rehabilitation Health, Ron Joyce Children's Health Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Robicheau
authors.affiliation: 2 Child and Youth Developmental and Rehabilitation Health, Ron Joyce Children's Health Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: 3 Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: DeVries
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000523:psychology
keywords: building design; children’s hospital; conjoint analysis; discrete choice conjoint experiment; preferences