Community Partners/ Community Engagement

PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE

The Jackson State University (JSU) - Mississippi Delta Research Center of Excellence for Maternal Health was established to address preventable maternal mortality, decrease severe maternal morbidity, and promote maternal health in partnership with the Mississippi Delta community.

This research center will conduct two multi-layered research projects utilizing community health partners, inclusive of an extensive research training program for early-stage investigators, to address the interpersonal and other factors that affect maternal outcomes.

By establishing meaningful and sustainable partnerships with the community in all parts of the process, we envision that this research center will overcome social, economic, environmental, and interpersonal barriers to high-quality, culturally competent postpartum maternal care and ultimately reduce maternal morbidity and mortality for women residing in the Mississippi Delta.

The Overarching Goal

Establishing collaborative, meaningful community partnerships, so that our center will seek to overcome social, economic, environmental, and interpersonal barriers to high-quality, culturally competent maternal care to ultimately reduce maternal morbidity, mortality, and health disparities for women residing in the Mississippi Delta.

Specific Aims/Objectives

Aim 1: Establish a meaningful community partnership throughout the entire research development and implementation process. Our center will be founded on a history of collaboration and meaningful partnerships model. We will ensure continued shared leadership with our community partners through co-leading meetings, trainings, strategy sessions, and reports; data and information sharing; and shared authorship and recognition on manuscripts, publications, presentations, and other dissemination strategies.

Aim 2: Ensure transparency and trust by employing community-centric strategies for dissemination. To enhance clarity and openness about the center’s work and partnership process, we will provide a public record of the organizers, sponsors, outcomes, and range of views and ideas expressed. We will use contemporary communication tools for dissemination, services, and assessment tools that align with the needs and preferences of the community members.

Aim 3: Adjust and adapt the center through a community-based model to make a lasting contribution to women in the Mississippi Delta. We will leverage the insights of our community partners to ensure the center is adapted to meet community needs and priorities. We will also build the community’s healthcare and research workforce capacity to strengthen and sustain structural supports that will lead to positive effects on maternal health outcomes.