An Ecological Approach to Smart Homes for Health Care Services: Conceptual Framework of a Smart Servicescape Wheel

Abstract

Smart homes are considered effective solutions for home health care for the elderly, as smart home technologies can reduce care costs and improve elderly residents' independence. To develop a greater understanding of smart homes for health care services (SHHSs), this study accentuated the necessity of ecological approaches with an emphasis on environmental constraints. This study was based on 2 rationales: (1) users are inclined to perceive the service quality and service experience from environments (ie, servicescape) owing to the intangibility of health care and the pervasiveness of smart home technologies, and (2) both service domains are complex adaptive systems in which diversified and undefined service experiences-not only a few intended service flows-can be generated by complex combinations of servicescape elements. Objective: This study proposed the conceptual framework of a Smart Servicescape Wheel (SSW) as an ecological approach delineating the extensive spectrum of environmental constraints in SHHSs. Methods: The SSW framework was established based on a literature review. Results: Generally divided by perceptible and imperceptible servicescapes, the SSW consists of the perceptible Physical scape (ie, hardware components, environmental cues, and human states) and Social scape (ie, service relationships and social relationships) as well as the imperceptible Datascape (ie, computing intelligence, databases, and communication networks). Following the ecological approach, each category of the SSW is subdivided and defined at the level of components or functions. Conclusions: The SSW's strengths lie in the various application opportunities for SHHSs. In terms of service planning and development, the SSW can be utilized to (1) establish the requirements for SHHS development, (2) associate with work domain analysis by defining component layers, and (3) understand the real contexts of SHHSs for the enhanced prediction of diverse service experiences. Regarding service management, it can be applied to develop measurement items for the operation and evaluation of SHHSs.