# A Personalized and Culturally Responsive Mindfulness Virtual Coach to Support Dementia Caregivers

> **NIH NIH R43** · BEAVER HEALTH, INC. · 2024 · $499,961

## Abstract

Project Summary
In 2022, an estimated 11 million American family caregivers provided 18 billion hours of unpaid care for
individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD). These caregivers experience
twice the emotional, physical, and financial problems and increased risk of depression and anxiety compared to
non-AD/ADRD caregivers. As the number of people living with dementia is expected to double to 13.8 million by
2060, the strain on AD/ADRD family caregivers will be further intensified, especially for minoritized caregivers
who are affected disproportionately and face cultural barriers in accessing support. Mindfulness-based
interventions have been shown to improve depression, anxiety, and stress for AD/ADRD family caregivers.
However, caregiver access, engagement, and adherence are challenging due to barriers such as time, cost
($50-400/session), lack of privacy in group sessions, and cultural stigma. Existing caregiver health and
mindfulness apps have low adoption and poor usability, with passive video and audio recordings that are not
interactive or personalized to each caregiver’s life and cultural context. There is a significant unmet need for
easily accessible, personalized, and culturally responsive delivery of mindfulness interventions to support the
needs of diverse AD/ADRD family caregivers. To address this urgent unmet need, we are developing Oasis: a
personalized and culturally responsive mindfulness virtual coaching platform to reduce stress, depression, and
anxiety for AD/ADRD caregivers. Unique from existing apps with pre-recorded content, Oasis leverages
advances in artificial intelligence to adapt its mindfulness delivery to each caregiver’s real-time responses,
caregiving and cultural context, and preferences. In each on-demand, 1:1 session, an avatar, tailored to the
caregiver’s preferences (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, accent/voice), is used to guide and support the caregiver
through personalized mindfulness coaching. To increase engagement and adherence, Oasis’ NLP system
personalizes the avatar’s dialogue based on key aspects of their caregiving experience and culture (e.g.,
challenging AD/ADRD behaviors, favorite foods for mindful eating activity, cultural values such as filial piety
or familism). In Phase 1, our 12-month goals are to develop a prototype of Oasis and test its initial
usability/feasibility for racially and ethnically diverse AD/ADRD family caregivers. By improving usability and
personalizing intervention delivery to each caregiver’s life and cultural context, Oasis directly addresses
barriers impeding mindfulness and health support for AD/ADRD caregivers to increase health equity by offering
a personalized, culturally relevant, and accessible support system to this underserved population.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10921850
- **Project number:** 1R43AG085865-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** BEAVER HEALTH, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily S. Wang
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $499,961
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-15 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10921850

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10921850, A Personalized and Culturally Responsive Mindfulness Virtual Coach to Support Dementia Caregivers (1R43AG085865-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10921850. Licensed CC0.

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