Evidence-based design of maternity wards in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC) can improve quality of care and impact patient outcomes. Among the most critical maternal experience determinants during a hospital stay are privacy and respect, yet evidence shows the “open-ward” typology of maternity wards in LMIC settings is a barrier to dignified care. While research funding exists on patient experience, limited funding is available for a design exercise to solve these challenges. Employing a mixed-method quality of care research model, findings are applied to the design of a cost-neutral maternity ward design prototype. This design exercise develops design guidelines governments can consider when planning future development, and an assessment tool to be used by Ministries of Health to examine quality of care issues in maternity ward settings. Upon completion, these outcomes will be used to pursue future funding of an R21 grant to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development supporting improved maternal health outcomes

• Meghan Gannon, PhD MSPH
  Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
  MATER Faculty (Maternal Addiction Treatment Education and Research)
  Director of Community Partnerships, MATER
  JeffMAP Fellow, Department of Family and Community Medicine
  Director Health Policy Systems Track SI, Sidney Kimmel Medical College
  Thomas Jefferson University
• Chris Harnish
  Associate Professor of Architecture, College of Architecture and the Built Environment
  Director, Health and Design Collaborative, Malawi
  Co-director, Jefferson Consortium of African Partnerships
  Thomas Jefferson University
• In collaboration with:
  Republic of Malawi Ministry of Health
  Kamuzu University of Health Sciences
  Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital
  Malawi Institute of Architects