Community Partners

ABSTRACT/SUMMARY Some high-risk mothers are often excluded from the very research designed to improve their health and health outcomes, despite the fact that they carry a higher burden of maternal mortality (MM) and severe maternal morbidity (SMM) in the United States and especially the Gulf South. To better reflect the needs of populations with limited access to high-quality maternal care, it is imperative that institutions embedded within the priority population join the Center as research partners. This will be accomplished by establishing mutually beneficial partnership agreements that promote shared decision-making to move beyond traditional research models that have not fully engaged community expertise. This project’s primary community partner–not only in this Core but across the entire Center and its leadership–is the Praxis Project. The Praxis Project is nationally renowned for its unique ability to bridge communication gaps between healthcare systems and pregnant and postpartum women via trainings, research, advocacy, and community-centered collaborations. By also working with community-based organizations (CBOs) focused on maternal health access and high-quality care, we will have greater access to the populations prioritized by this Center and support these organizations’ capacity through tailored technical assistance. Furthermore, our partnerships with Ochsner Health System and other healthcare partners will aid in translation of findings and sustainability of programs and integration into practice or policy. The long-term goal of this Core is to reduce rates of MM and SMM by embedding Community Partners into all facets of the Center’s activities. Crucial to the project’s success is our overall objective to integrate the expertise and experiences of perinatal women into research design and implementation by incorporating Community Partners who serve perinatal women as co-collaborators in research- and training-based efforts. Our overall hypothesis is that effective maternity care and interventions can be achieved when they are founded on research that is guided and co-led by community organizations who fill the gap in collaboration between health systems and populations with limited access to high-quality maternal care. To achieve our objective, we will pursue the following Specific Aims: 1) Establish mutually beneficial partnerships between the CBO, researchers, and healthcare providers through collaborative research projects and training programs within the Center; 2) Create a research training laboratory where Community Partners and researchers are learning in partnership and synergizing their knowledge and experience, assets, and networks to achieve the overall objective; 3) Facilitate the translation and dissemination of efficacious prevention, treatment, and policy focused on improving access and high quality care to reduce rates of MM and SMM. Positioning Praxis as the primary Community Partner and collaborator will not only significantly improve the project’s design, implementation, and dissemination efforts but will also forge strong and lasting relationships with the target population that will ultimately result in better healthcare outcomes. Furthermore, by strengthening organizational infrastructure and promoting bidirectional learning among community and academic partners, we will generate sustainable and long-term changes in organizational practices and service delivery across the region.