Funded Projects

As we continue to deal with the unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to support family caregivers is becoming more important. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted caregiver intensity, adding to an already overburdened population that has grown from 43.5 million caregivers in 2015 to 53 million caregivers today (more than 1 in every 5 Americans in now a family caregiver). The burden these caregivers have experienced throughout the pandemic has only intensified, as things such as the need to socially distance, stay-at-home orders, limitations on gatherings, as well as the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on mortality among older adults have all impacted the emotional and physical health of family caregivers. Multiple studies have found that Caregiver Burden, defined as the impacts on physical and mental health, and health-related quality of life, increased among family caregivers and that long-term family caregivers, in particular, have had an increase in adverse physical and mental health issues throughout the pandemic. As a result, there is an urgent need to provide an effective intervention designed to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the burden being experienced by family caregivers. I am proposing to utilize my Blue Sky Coin to modify a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction mobile app designed to help combat the adverse effects of COVID-19 on mental health outcomes. The app will be modified to address the unique needs of family caregivers in an effort to reduce stress and worry, and to improve mental and physical health, sleep, and caregiver task management, as well as collect data and provide real-time feedback. I propose to implement and examine the effectiveness of the intervention among a pilot group of family caregivers, and if successful, the findings of the pilot study will support an NIH grant application.