Helping African American Couples Manage Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Engaging African American Couples in the Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
This project offers a couples-based program to help African American adults with obstructive sleep apnea use their CPAP machines more regularly.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Case Western Reserve University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cleveland, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11167713 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, you and your bed partner would be enrolled together and randomly placed into one of two groups. Everyone receives a CPAP machine, supplies, and standardized education from a certified sleep technician. People in the couples program also get a tailored behavioral therapy intervention designed to involve partners in supporting CPAP use. The study will track how often you use the CPAP and follow you over time to see if the couples approach improves regular use and quality of life.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: African American adults diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea who sleep with a bed partner and are prescribed CPAP would be ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People who do not have a bed partner, are not prescribed CPAP, are under 21, or are already consistently using CPAP may not gain benefit from the couples-focused program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could help people sleep better and improve daytime functioning by increasing regular CPAP use.
How similar studies have performed: Researchers conducted interviews and developed a couples-oriented intervention that showed promise in preliminary work, but a full-scale randomized trial is now planned to test its effectiveness.
Where this research is happening
Cleveland, United States
- Case Western Reserve University — Cleveland, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Thornton, John Daryl — Case Western Reserve University
- Study coordinator: Thornton, John Daryl
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 below.