The ELEVATE Maternal Health Center of Excellence: A Program to Reduce Maternal Morbidity From Substance Use Disorder in Utah

Substance use (SU) and mental health disorders are the leading cause of maternal deaths in the United States, and individuals living in rural communities and those who identify as Native American or Alaska Native are disproportionately affected. The new ELEVATE Maternal Health Center of Excellence brings together an interdisciplinary team and strong community partnerships to help address these concerns by rigorously developing and evaluating interventions to improve the care of, and reduce mortality and morbidity for, pregnant patients with SU disorder (SUD) with a focus on rural and Native populations. ELEVATE is comprised of a Community Engagement Core, a Training Core, an Implementation Integration Core, and 2 large-scale research projects focused on reducing maternal morbidity from SUD. ELEVATE members are actively engaged with community partners across the state with interests in Native health, minority health, rural health, and SUD through Community Advisory Board meetings and bidirectional communication. The 2 research projects focus on (1) adaptation of a culturally sensitive clinical program for Native mothers with SUD in the perinatal time period and (2) development of a healthcare provider training to reduce stigma and improve evidence-based care for patients with SUD who are giving birth. Information gleaned from these projects will be disseminated across Utah, and nationally, to improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum people with SUD and ultimately help eliminate preventable maternal deaths. The multipronged approach of the ELEVATE Center will reduce maternal morbidity from SU in Utah while training the next generation of scientists focused on morbidity reduction.