The National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Aging (NIA) has awarded Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Areum Han, PhD, OTR/L, a two-year, $418,327 R21 grant to adapt and pilot test an AI-enabled web app based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for family caregivers of people with dementia. This grant, which becomes active this September, along with recently awarded grants from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, brings Dr. Han’s total ongoing external research funding to $1.3 million.
Dr. Han and her team developed an initial prototype of an AI-enabled web app based on ACT, specifically designed for family caregivers of people with dementia. This innovative program includes ACT modules tested for this population in the team’s previous work and offers the caregivers tailored coaching options based on real-time assessments of ACT processes and depressive symptoms.
The NIH/NIA grant will support Dr. Han and her team as they collaborate with community partners to refine the program and evaluate its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy in improving family caregivers’ mental health outcomes and ACT processes. Following this small-scale feasibility/pilot testing phase, the team plans to apply for an NIH/NIA R01 grant to conduct a larger-scale clinical trial.
“Family caregivers of people with dementia report a significant unmet need for mental health support,” Dr. Han said. “We hope this project and our follow-up project contribute to increasing their access to much-needed evidence-based mental health support.”
American Occupational Therapy Foundation Grant
This July, Dr. Han and her team began a two-year research project funded through an implementation research grant from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, totaling $99,995.
In this project, Dr. Han and her team are adapting their existing ACT program, initially designed for family caregivers, to tailor it for use as an OT-led program for parents of children with disabilities within pediatric outpatient clinics. The team will then develop training strategies and educational materials for OTs and implement the program in a small-scale feasibility study to assess its feasibility and collect pilot data.
“I hope that this study will be successful and that we can eventually implement this program on a national level, increasing access for OTs and parents of children with disabilities to evidence-based mental health support resources in pediatric outpatient clinic settings,” Dr. Han said.
Craig H. Neilsen Foundation Grant
Dr. Han’s research is also supported by the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, which awarded her a $448,000 grant for a three-year randomized controlled trial that got underway in May. This project is evaluating the effects of an eight-week, coach-guided, videoconferencing ACT program on promoting mental health outcomes, including reducing depressive symptoms, and enhancing ACT processes for living in accordance with values among individuals with spinal cord injuries.
