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Adapting a Stress Management Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk

Adapting and Piloting a Stress Management Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Women Living With HIV

Who can join

Ages 18 and older · Women

Inclusion Criteria:

1. cis-gender females at least 18 years of age
2. HIV-seropositive and a patient of the recruiting clinic
3. English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

1. severe mental illness
2. not being willing able to provide informed consent
3. not willing or able to attend study visits

About the study

Women living with HIV have 2-4x higher risk for cardiovascular disease compared to women without HIV, with women living with HIV in the Southern US being particularly at risk. While an increased prevalence of traditional risk factors (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, and obesity) partially explain this risk, evidence suggests that increased exposure to structural and social stressors (e.g., poverty, discrimination, and stigma) among women living with HIV in the South negatively contribute to cardiovascular disease disparities through their impact on stress. The Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) program is an effective, evidence-based intervention proven to improve resiliency to environmental stressors and reduce the physiologic responses to stress which contribute to cardiovascular disease. While the SMART program has demonstrated efficacy in a wide range of populations and settings, it has not been designed for or tested among women living with HIV in the South, where unique cultural and faith-based context may diminish the uptake and value of the intervention to mitigate cardiovascular disease risk. The purpose of this study is to adapt the evidence-based SMART program in consideration of the needs and contexts of women living with HIV in the Southern US and pilot the adapted intervention to establish the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of the adapted intervention to reduce stress and mitigate cardiovascular disease risk among this population.

What is being tested

• Stress Management and Resiliency Training Program (behavioral)
• Usual Care (other)

Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham · Participants: 48 · Started: May 14, 2025

Contact the study team

• Jenni Wise, PhD, MSN · Phone: 2059969459

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06811896

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Cardiovascular Disease

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.