JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Race-based anxiety is a significant health issue for the Black community. Although mindfulness interventions have demonstrated efficacy for alleviating anxiety, three central barriers prevent Black Americans from accessing existing mindfulness treatments: high costs, excessive time commitments, and limited cultural relevance. There is a need for novel mindfulness interventions for the Black community that can overcome these barriers.

Objective:

The goal of this online study was to examine the preliminary effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of a novel digital music-based mindfulness intervention for middle-to-low income Black Americans with elevated race-based anxiety.

Methods:

This study used a non-concurrent multiple-baseline design (n=5). The intervention featured contributions from Lama Rod Owens (world-renowned meditation teacher and LA Times best-selling author) and Terry Edmonds (former chief speechwriter for President Bill Clinton). We examined the effect of the intervention on state anxiety and also assessed feasibility and acceptability using quantitative and qualitative measures.

Results:

Results revealed that administration of the intervention led to significant decreases in state anxiety (Tau-U Range: [-0.75, -0.38]; p-values < 0.001). Virtually all feasibility and acceptability metrics were high (i.e., the average likelihood of recommending the intervention was 98 out of 100).

Conclusions:

This study offers preliminary evidence that a digital music-based mindfulness intervention can decrease race-based anxiety in Black Americans. Future research is needed to replicate these results, test whether the intervention can elicit lasting changes in anxiety, assess mechanisms of change, and explore the efficacy of the intervention in real-world contexts.