AI to strengthen therapist-family connections for obese African American teens
Official title: Establishing an Artificially Intelligent Framework for Improving Therapeutic Alliance with Obese African American Youth and Caregivers through Multimodal Monitoring of Empathetic Accuracy and Interper
Funded at Medical University of South Carolina · NIH-11138434 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses artificial intelligence to help community health workers connect more empathetically with African American adolescents with obesity and their caregivers during family-based therapy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Medical University of South Carolina NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charleston, United States) |
| Project start | September 26, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $477,310 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MD018216-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11138434 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are African American adolescents with obesity and their primary caregivers who are willing to attend family-based therapy sessions and allow session recordings.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not have obesity, are not part of an African American family unit, or cannot participate in recorded in-person therapy sessions are unlikely to be eligible or directly helped by this project.
What this research studies
If you and your caregiver join, researchers will record therapy sessions and use AI and machine-learning to analyze speech, facial cues, and behavior to measure empathy and the strength of the therapist–family relationship. The team will apply these measurements to improve a family-based program called FIT Families that is delivered by community health workers. The goal is to give therapists feedback or tools to build a better emotional bond and clearer agreement on goals and tasks with your family. Participation would involve attending regular therapy sessions that may be audio/video recorded for analysis.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help therapists form stronger relationships with teens and families, which may improve engagement and weight-management outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research shows strong therapeutic alliance improves behavioral treatment outcomes, but using AI to track empathetic accuracy and guide community health workers is a newer approach with limited prior proof in this exact context.
Where this research is happening
-
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cunningham, Phillippe Belton — Medical University of South Carolina
- Study coordinator: Cunningham, Phillippe Belton
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.