Lay summary
Hospitals in Aotearoa New Zealand have a legacy founded in colonialism and are designed to Eurocentric principles of health and wellbeing – as such they are inequitable by design and represent culturally unsafe spaces for many people who need to access them. We propose that by creating culturally safe physical environments it will improve the overall quality of the healthcare encounter. This project would realise a new and unique collaboration between healthcare professionals, healthcare scientists, Māori health researchers and an indigenous design agency IDIA (Indigenous Design and Innovation Aotearoa). It is the first project of its kind in Aotearoa. The project will involve communities and health consumers through a kaupapa Māori design process to co-create re-imagined waiting areas. Hospital (re)design has received little research attention (yet most if not all of us have lived experience of hospital waiting rooms) and promises a new area (literally) to achieve health benefit.