Beyond functionality: prioritizing adaptive lower garment requirements for lower limb disabilities using a refined Kano model with demographic interaction analyses

This study investigates the multidimensional lower garment requirements of users with lower limb disabilities, extending beyond basic functionality to examine how physical constraints and user evaluations are reflected in adaptive clothing preferences. Specifically, this study aims to identify and prioritize adaptive design attributes and explore whether age, gender, and disability type are associated with variations in clothing preference evaluations. Utilizing a refined Kano model integrated with Better-Worse coefficients and sensitivity analysis, this quantitative research evaluated 30 adaptive design attributes based on structured survey data from 214 respondents. Exploratory two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine potential demographic interaction patterns associated with clothing preference evaluations. The results reveal that physiological comfort and accessible donning mechanics constitute baseline priorities at the overall-sample level, while exploratory interaction analyses suggest variations in preference evaluations across demographic subgroups. Exploratory analyses indicated four interaction patterns involving evaluations of specific garment attributes, including personalized design, Velcro fasteners, close-fitting silhouettes, and abrasion resistance. Ultimately, the findings indicate that adaptive lower garment requirements combine overall attribute-level priorities with subgroup-specific variations across age, gender, and disability type. This study provides a quantitative basis for differentiated prioritization of adaptive clothing design attributes while highlighting the potential value of accounting for demographic heterogeneity in design decision-making.