Employing visibility and agent-based accessibility analysis to enhance social interactions in older adult care facilities

Social interaction is an essential factor in ensuring the quality of older adult living. This study aimed to investigate socio-spatial features associated with social interaction in older adult care facilities. A socio-technological approach integrating space syntax and agent-based analysis was applied as an evaluation framework to measure the spatial and social attributes. Visibility from the nurses’ and patients’ locations, behavioural accessibility to social spaces, and strong to weak circulation patterns were examined. There was low patient visibility from the nurse stations in cluster-type units, and the visual connection was higher in the patient room corridors than the lounge areas in racetrack-type units. Increased inflows of patients to common areas appeared with a direct and uninterrupted connection between patient room corridors and central circulation area. This study contributes to potential applications of the spatial features to enhance social interaction possibilities with an awareness of the effects on visual and social properties.