Ceremony Study
What is the CEREMONY study?
CEREMONY is a 7-year research study housed in the ELEVATE Center. The goal of the CEREMONY study is to adapt and evaluate the successful SUPeRAD perinatal substance use disorder care model for use with Native mothers.
The name CEREMONY came from Native mothers who participated in earlier focus groups about pregnancy complications. They frequently told us that “pregnancy is a ceremony.” Through this project, we hope to foster and amplify community, healthcare engagement, belonging, and trust in order to support recovery among Native pregnant people with SUD. We hope to achieve this, at least in part, by connecting to and incorporating the concept of pregnancy as a ceremony
What does the CEREMONY intervention look like?
In partnership with Sacred Circle Clinic, we will use community-based research principles to adapt SUPeRAD’s perinatal care model to be culturally integrated for Native mothers. We will then implement the new care model at Sacred Circle Clinic. Patients who qualify and decide to enroll in the study will receive their perinatal care at Sacred Circle Clinic and will be asked to complete surveys throughout their pregnancy and for a year afterwards.
What is the timeline for the study?
2024: Work with community partners to review, provide feedback, and re-design the SUPeRAD intervention protocol to be culturally responsive. Complete simulations, or run-throughs, to demonstrate how providers and patients might experience the adapted perinatal SUD intervention.
2025-2027: Recruit and enroll participants for the intervention. Evaluate the implementation process.
2028: Evaluate CEREMONY effectiveness outcomes.
2028-30: Create an implementation guide for scale-up of the CEREMONY care model and collaborate with other Native communities across the country who express a need and desire for a similar intervention.
Who are our partners?
We are grateful for the cooperation of Sacred Circle Healthcare, Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA), the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake, the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, and the Confederate Tribe of the Goshute Reservation. We are also working closely with the entire Elevate Community Advisory Board to ensure that the CEREMONY intervention meets the needs of providers and patients.
How can you get involved?
To learn more or to get involved in this study, please reach out to us.