Maternity Healthscapes: Conceptualization and Index Development

Abstract

Objectives: This article provides a conceptualization and an index of the multidimensional concept of maternity healthscapes (MHS). Background: Healthscape has emerged as a potential key aspect to improve patient experience. Surprisingly, there has been little effort to delineate the concept of MHS from a design perspective, while maternity wards have unique characteristics and particular challenges. Indeed, patients in maternity wards are usually not acutely ill but can feel highly vulnerable due to the pain, stress, and the many uncertainties surrounding labor and delivery—which can heighten patients’ need for intimacy, supporter comfort, and additional supporting services. Thus, healthscapes need to be designed to account for the specificities of childbearing and needs of those patients and their family. Methods: A multidisciplinary literature review and 39 in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders—mothers, midwives, heads of midwives, and chief executives. Results: The authors develop a conceptualization to establish a comprehensive understanding of the dimensionality of MHSs. Based on that comprehensive conceptualization, the authors develop an index providing a census of the aspects in the MHS that various stakeholders—such as healthcare providers, designers, and architects—should take into account when conceiving MHS. Conclusions: Healthcare providers, designers, and architects can use this conceptualization and index to closely monitor and measure for evaluations and further improvements of the MHS, thereby enhancing patient experience in maternity wards.