The CORAL Community Core

Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section – CORAL Community Partnership Core Maternal behavioral health conditions, including substance use disorders, affect 1 in 5 pregnant/postpartum women and are one of the leading causes of pregnancy-related death. Multiple factors affecting the complex physical, mental, and behavioral health milieu, contribute to this pattern. Thus, maternal behavioral health represents an important area for investigation and innovation to improve outcomes for populations requiring attention. Maternal and behavioral health have not appropriately and rigorously engaged community stakeholders. Experts agree that the lived experiences and local knowledge of pregnant/postpartum women, and community bodies who serve them, are integral in identifying effective public health solutions. We posit that, to drastically reduce pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated maternal deaths among women with behavioral health conditions, community voices must be prioritized and amplified. To this end, the Community Partnership Core (CPC) will lead the creation, cultivation, and maintenance of a cooperative partnership between the CORAL Center and all relevant community partners at each stage of the research process, from conceptualization to wide dissemination and translation for varied audiences. Using and expanding upon community engagement frameworks, and leveraging a multidisciplinary team of research and community partners we will: (1) Develop an effective CPC Community Accountability Board (CAB); (2) Engage communities to develop a CPC Community Accountability Board Research Agenda to advance Maternal Behavioral Health; (3) Develop infrastructure to support the achievement of the CPC CAB Research Agenda, and CORAL projects more broadly; and (4) Apply innovative methods to disseminate and implement CORAL research learnings with community members, partner organizations, and policymakers utilizing locally rooted approaches. We anticipate that, through our intentionally constructed research team, community partnerships, and leveraging of our existing state- and-nationwide capacity, we will be able to support the implementation of sustainable maternal behavioral health interventions to improve maternal health outcomes. Working in partnership with communities who serve pregnant and postpartum women, the CPC's work has the potential to activate the power of communities and inform policies and practices for practitioners, researchers, and policy makers so that mothers not just survive but thrive.