How sleep affects health for Black gay men
Official title: Examining the Mechanisms and Consequences of Poor Sleep Health Among Black Gay Men
Funded at Rand Corporation · NIH-11387460 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows Black gay men for a year to find out whether poor sleep links life stress to worse HIV, mental, and physical health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rand Corporation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Monica, United States) |
| Project start | August 2, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $669,558 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MD019278-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11387460 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Men who identify as Black or African American and gay (or same-gender-loving), willing to complete surveys, wear a sleep monitor, and participate in follow-up visits over 12 months are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not identify as Black gay men, cannot commit to the one-year follow-up or wearing a sleep monitor, or who need immediate medical treatment should not expect direct benefits from participating.
What this research studies
If you join, you'll complete surveys at three times over a year (baseline, 6 months, and 12 months), keep a short daily diary, and wear a small sleep monitor called an actigraph for objective sleep tracking. The team plans to enroll about 300 Black gay men and will do deeper one-on-one interviews with 60 participants at the start and after one year to hear more about daily stress and coping. Researchers will combine survey answers, daily diaries, interview stories, and objective sleep data to see how stress and sleep relate to mental, physical, and HIV-related outcomes over time. The approach is community-based and mixed-methods to capture both numbers and personal experiences.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to ways to improve sleep and reduce stress-related mental and physical health problems in Black gay men, including those living with HIV.
How similar studies have gone: Previous cross-sectional research suggests sleep problems are common in Black gay men, but long-term, objective sleep tracking with mixed methods in this population is new.
Where this research is happening
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Rand Corporation
Santa Monica, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dong, Lu — Rand Corporation
- Study coordinator: Dong, Lu
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.