Purpose: This study seeks to identify design elements in the labor and delivery rooms at Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital that affect patient support persons’ (PSPs) ability to support to the birthing individual. PSP support is associated with reduced patient stress, increased patient satisfaction, and decreased healthcare costs through fewer maternal interventions.

Methods: We collected quantitative and qualitative data through in-person structured interviews with 25 PSPs who accompanied a patient that underwent low-risk vaginal delivery at Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. Quantitative data was cleaned on Excel and descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data on SPSS. Qualitative data was transcribed and reviewed for themes. 

Results: PSPs that work in healthcare, compared to those who do not, were significantly more likely to: 1) rate knowledge of medical equipment as a larger contributor to their ability to provide support, 2) rate the room space as more customizable, and 3) report lower levels of personal needs fulfillment. Compared to male PSPs, female PSPs rated room decoration as more customizable and rated the white board as a larger contributor to their ability to support. Overall, lower stress, increased comfort, and increased sense of belonging were significantly (p<0.001) correlated with increased ability to support (r=-0.81, r=0.68, r=0.80 respectively). Common reported barriers included lack of information about features of the room and the facility, difficulty fulfilling personal needs, and feeling like a hinderance.

Sabrina Shih is a third year medical student at University of Michigan Medical School. She graduated from Cornell with a bachelors in biology. She has experience with textbook illustration design, and is seeking to broaden her research interests to environmental design with a focus on improving patient outcomes, as well as designing medical education tools for medical students. Sabrina is an aspiring OBGYN physician and hopes to practice community medicine.