# Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Application for African American Caregivers

> **NIH NIH R41** · COG ANALYTICS, LLC · 2021 · $251,841

## Abstract

Abstract
 There are approximately 43.5 million informal (unpaid) caregivers in the U.S., of which 5.6 million are
African American. Informal caregivers often provide a variety of types of support including emotional, physical,
and financial, to people with chronic conditions.1 Providing care can be very stressful and emotionally and
physically exhausting for informal caregivers.2 African American caregivers have unique needs because they
are more likely to experience stressors related to limited support for respite care and a lack of access to
culturally sensitive health care providers and services,3-5 placing them at higher risk for burnout and adverse
health outcomes.6 Thus, preventing or reducing caregiver stress is especially important in order to sustain
informal caregiving.
 One type of intervention that has shown promise in helping caregivers manage stress, anxiety, and
depression is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). While MBSR is typically taught in face-to-face
group sessions, this Phase I STTR proposes to use MBSR components such as sitting meditations, a body
scan, and yoga exercises to create a mobile-friendly application (app) tailored for African American informal
caregivers of people with chronic conditions. The proposed app, entitled Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
for African American Caregivers (MBSR-AAC), will employ video and audio adaptations of MBSR activities in
addition to content tailored for the target population. Although there are numerous mindfulness apps available,
none specifically target African American caregivers, a group of people who could greatly benefit from
reductions in anxiety and depression, which, in turn, may improve the mental and physical health of their care
recipients.
 The proposed study will use in-depth qualitative interview data from caregivers and key informants to
inform the development of the MBSR-AAC and to evaluate its proposed content, including video and audio
presentations. After the MBSR-AAC is developed, a feasibility trial will be conducted to examine usability. Also,
ecological momentary assessment-style outcome data will be collected to examine the association between
number of minutes using the app and real-time perceived stress. Data from the feasibility trial will be used for
final refinements, which will leave the MBSR-AAC well-poised for rigorous efficacy testing in Phase II and rapid
market scale-up.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10325000
- **Project number:** 1R41AG071168-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** COG ANALYTICS, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Karen Alexander
- **Activity code:** R41 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $251,841
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10325000

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10325000, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Application for African American Caregivers (1R41AG071168-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10325000. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*