Mindfulness and behavior-change program to improve heart health in older adults with HIV

Mindfulness and Behavior Change to Improve Cardiovascular Health of Older People With HIV

NA · Massachusetts General Hospital · NCT06001814

This project will test a text-message–enhanced mindfulness and behavior-change program to see if it reduces stress and cardiovascular risk in people aged 50+ living with HIV who have elevated psychological distress.

Quick facts

PhaseNA
Study typeInterventional
Enrollment50 (estimated)
Ages50 Years and up
SexAll
SponsorMassachusetts General Hospital (other)
Locations1 site (Boston, Massachusetts)
Trial IDNCT06001814 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The project refines components from mindfulness-based stress reduction and the diabetes prevention program into a combined intervention called One Mind One Heart (OM-OH) and adds supportive text messages. Investigators will use semi-structured interviews with 20 older people with HIV and elevated psychological distress and input from a multidisciplinary team to adapt the content. They will then run a small open pilot (N=5) to test feasibility and gather exit feedback. The work is conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital and targets participants who are virally suppressed, have at least one cardiovascular risk factor, and can receive text messages.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal candidates are English-speaking adults aged 50 or older living with HIV who are virally suppressed, report elevated psychological distress (K10 ≥10), have at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, and have a cell phone that can receive text messages.

Not a fit: People who are non-English-speaking, have cognitive impairment preventing informed consent, have untreated or under-treated serious mental illness (like active psychosis or bipolar disorder), or cannot receive text messages are unlikely to benefit from this pilot.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, OM-OH could lower psychological distress and change behaviors linked to inflammation and cardiovascular risk, potentially improving heart health for older people with HIV.

How similar studies have performed: Mindfulness interventions have shown promise for reducing psychological distress and supporting behavior change in prior studies, but combining MBSR and diabetes-prevention content with text-message support specifically for cardiovascular risk in older people with HIV is relatively novel.

Eligibility criteria

Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria:

1. age ≥50 years
2. clinical diagnosis of HIV per medical record or provision of current antiretroviral medication prescription
3. viral suppression - i.e., lower than detectable limit - per medical record or provision of viral load test from the past six months
4. current elevated psychological distress (score ≥10 on 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale \[K10\]) screener)
5. ≥1 CVD risk factor (based on ACC/AHA Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk Score Calculator; e.g., diabetes, current smoker, hypertension, and high cholesterol
6. access to cell phone with text messaging capabilities

Exclusion Criteria:

1. non-English-speaking
2. cognitive impairments preventing informed consent
3. untreated or under-treated serious mental illness (i.e., psychosis and bipolar disorder) based on clinical interview

Where this trial is running

Boston, Massachusetts

Study contacts

How to participate

  1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
  2. Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
  3. Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.

View on ClinicalTrials.gov →

Conditions: Hiv, Cardiovascular Diseases

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.