Mindfulness-based Support for Pain and Sleep in Young People with Sickle Cell Disease
Official title: Mindfulness-based Intervention for Pain and Sleep in Adolescents and Young Adults with Sickle Cell Disease
Funded at University of Illinois at Chicago · NIH-11583056 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A digital mindfulness program is being tailored for adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease to help with pain and sleep and is being tested for practicality and early effectiveness.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Illinois at Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | June 20, 2025 |
| Project end | May 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $248,999 |
| NIH project number | 4R00NR021195-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11583056 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease who experience chronic pain and sleep disturbances.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without access to digital devices or with extremely severe symptoms not addressed by MBIs may see limited benefit.
What this research studies
This project focuses on adapting a digital mindfulness program specifically for adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease to address their chronic pain and sleep problems. The team will test whether the digital program is easy to use, acceptable to users, and shows signs of helping with pain and sleep in a small, early study. Slower, careful development will involve listening to patients to tailor content and delivery, then piloting the program in a way that could lead to a larger trial. The work combines user-centered design with mixed-methods research and randomized elements to gather feedback and preliminary signals of benefit. The ultimate goal is to create a scalable, patient-friendly tool that could improve quality of life for young people living with SCD.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could experience better pain management and sleep, translating to improved daily functioning and mood.
How similar studies have gone: Prior mindfulness research shows promise in adults; this study adapts the approach for a younger SCD population and is early in development.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wi, Dahee — University of Illinois at Chicago
- Study coordinator: Wi, Dahee
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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.