Shared sanitation facilities (SSFs) have contributed considerably to sanitation access in many low-income settlements. While many SSFs are of unacceptable quality, others have been found to be a hygienically safe and a socially and economically viable sanitation option. Within its framework, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), evaluating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, considers shared sanitation as ‘limited sanitation’. Overall, there is uncertainty about the criteria to distinguish between unacceptable and acceptable quality of SSF. In our study, we used a user-centred qualitative approach in low-income urban settlements in Kumasi (Ghana), Kisumu (Kenya) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) and conducted 17 focus group discussions to evaluate how SSF users define the quality of an SSF and which aspects they consider as essential priorities for good-quality SSF. In descending order, the user priorities identified are: immediate water access, cleanliness, gender-separated toilets, flush toilets, lighting for use at night, lockable/functional doors, tiling, handwashing stations and privacy. This list can serve as input to the sanitation guidelines, local building codes and the establishment of minimum national sanitation standards. SSFs that meet these minimal criteria can then be promoted as an incremental step when individual household facilities are not feasible.

共享的卫生设施（SSF）为许多低收入住区的卫生获取做出了巨大贡献。尽管许多SSF的质量令人无法接受，但发现其他SSF在卫生上是安全的，在社会和经济上都是可行的卫生选择。世卫组织/儿童基金会联合监测计划（JMP）在其框架内，评估了可持续发展目标的进展情况，认为共享卫生是“有限卫生”。总体而言，关于区分SSF的不可接受质量和可接受质量的标准尚不确定。在我们的研究中，我们在库马西（加纳）的低收入城市住区中采用了以用户为中心的定性方法，Kisumu（肯尼亚）和Dhaka（孟加拉国）进行了17次焦点小组讨论，以评估SSF用户如何定义SSF的质量以及他们认为哪些方面是高质量SSF的基本优先事项。按照降序排列，确定的用户优先级为：立即取水，清洁，按性别分隔的厕所，冲水马桶，夜间照明，可上锁/功能性门，瓷砖，洗手台和私密性。该清单可以用作卫生准则，当地建筑法规和最低国家卫生标准的建立的输入。当单个家庭设施不可行时，可以将满足这些最低标准的SSF逐步升级。