Exploring environmental attributes shaping older adults’ preferences in care homes using electroencephalography, questionnaires, and interviews

With the aging population, the design of care homes has gained increasing attention. However, the older adults’ preferences for various environmental attributes were often overlooked and still need to be further explored. This study aims to explore these environmental preferences to support their emotional well-being. A fractional factorial design was adopted to identify significant factors. Totally, 32 scenes were developed, incorporating eight environmental attributes: illuminance, colour temperature, view out, floor texture, colour contrast, visual complexity, layout, and style, with each attribute examined at two types. In total, 111 valid electroencephalogram (EEG), questionnaires, and interview data were collected from 37 older adult participants. The environmental preferences of older people were evaluated using independent samples t -tests, linear regression, interaction effect analysis, and EEG topographic mapping. The results from EEG data further enriched environmental preferences by capturing older adults’ subtle emotional responses. This study identified the preferred types of environmental attributes among older people, contributing to the construction of an emotionally supportive environment and promoting older adults’ psychological well-being.