Stress and hypertension among African American women family caregivers of persons living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: Randomized controlled pilot study protocol (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Caregivers of persons living with Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) tend to neglect their health, including by ignoring their stress levels. African American women are particularly vulnerable to this, and they are also particularly susceptible to hypertension. Addressing stress reactivity/stress resilience is vital in lessening their stress related to caregiving, enhancing their quality of life, and fostering healthy blood pressure self-care behaviors OBJECTIVE This pilot study aims to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of implementing the Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) plus the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension intervention (MIM DASH) in this population and to evaluate its effect on AD/ADRD caregivers’ stress and quality of life. Additionally, the study explores the mediating role of stress reactivity/stress resilience between interventions and self-care behaviors. METHODS A small RCT pilot study will recruit 28 African American/Black female caregivers aged 40 years or older living with hypertension. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the MIM DASH intervention or the Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Training group (attention control). Both interventions will be delivered over eight weeks through one-hour group telehealth sessions, accessible via video or telephone. After completing the health intervention, both groups will receive coaching calls over nine months, beginning with eight weekly calls followed by four monthly calls to encourage participants to utilize the educational materials. RESULTS This study is an ongoing project. Recruitment, intervention delivery, and fidelity monitoring have been completed. Final data collection and analysis will occur by December 2024. CONCLUSIONS Our research will be pioneering in elucidating the mechanisms underlying stress reactivity/stress resilience, exploring African American female caregivers' psychological and physiological responses to stress, and investigating their self-care behaviors. These insights will pave the way for a larger randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of MIM DASH among African American female caregivers of persons living with dementia. CLINICALTRIAL NCT05721482