# Improving mental health among the LGBTQ+ community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic

> **NIH NIH RF1** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $2,368,492

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 During the COVID-19 pandemic, up to 81% of adults in the United States experienced worsening mental
health. A major cause was the social isolation triggered by the pandemic due to quarantining, loss of family or
friends, and loss of work. For individuals who lost social connections or were unable to adapt to maintain their
connections, social support decreased and loneliness worsened, putting them at much higher risk for anxiety
and depressive symptoms. Importantly, people who identify as LGBTQ+ have been particularly affected by the
social isolation caused by the pandemic and were already at much higher risk of social isolation, loneliness,
and mental illness, including suicidality, before the pandemic. The long-term goal is to improve mental health
outcomes in the LGBTQ+ population. The objective of this R01 fully-powered Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness-
Implementation trial is to examine the effectiveness of a brief acceptance-based behavioral telehealth
intervention (ABBT) to improve mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic by strengthening social support
among LGBTQ+ individuals. The central hypothesis is that ABBT will be an impactful intervention for LGBTQ+
individuals because it will teach patients how to navigate the real, unavoidable challenges of the COVID-19
pandemic, while attending to their life goals and values, such as social connectedness.
 The aims of this proposal are: (1) to examine the effectiveness of ABBT in reducing mental health morbidity
by conducting a fully-powered, RCT (n=200) of ABBT vs. Treatment-as-Usual; (2) to examine potential
mediators and moderators of ABBT treatment effects; and, (3) to identify patient, staff, and organizational-level
factors that may facilitate/hinder ABBT implementation. Primary outcomes will be anxiety and depressive
symptoms. ABBT represents an innovative approach to coping with the COVID-19 pandemic that can be more
personally-relevant and sensitive to patients' needs than traditional CBT. Thus, the clinical and public health
significance of this research will be the demonstration of a simple, lower-cost, and potentially widely-
disseminable intervention that can be integrated into treatment services at LGBTQ+ health centers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10613077
- **Project number:** 1RF1MH132348-01
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Philip Andrew Chan
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $2,368,492
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10613077

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10613077, Improving mental health among the LGBTQ+ community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (1RF1MH132348-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10613077. Licensed CC0.

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