Discov Ment Health. 2025 Dec 29;5(1):202. doi: 10.1007/s44192-025-00333-z.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: High stress affects mental and physical health, with African Americans at greater risk due to systemic inequities. The Community Resiliency Model (CRM)®, an evidence-based intervention teaching sensory awareness skills to enhance resiliency, was evaluated among African American and White elderly participants with memory impairment to assess its effectiveness on stress-related outcomes.
METHODS: Fifty-four African American and White participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were recruited in Atlanta, Georgia, for a 3-h online CRM workshop in 2021-2022 delivered by a CRM-trained nurse practitioner. Participants completed surveys pre- and 4 weeks post-intervention, including Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Somatic Symptoms Scale (SSS-8), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10). Paired t-tests assessed the changes in outcome measures.
RESULTS: Among fifty-four participants, twelve were lost to follow-up. Mean age was 68 (range: 39-83 years); majority were female (81%) and African American (71%). Participants showed improvements in mean differences for depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 difference: 1.4; [95% CI 0.5, 2.4]; p-value = 0.0035), somatic symptoms (SSS-8 difference: 1.9; [95% CI 0.81, 3.0]; p-value = 0.0011), and resilience (CD-RISC-10 difference: – 1.4; [95% CI – 2.8, – 0.0026]; p-value = 0.05). Perceived stress improved but was not statistically significant (PSS-10 difference: 1.0; 95% CI – 0.77, 2.9; p-value = 0.25). No racial differences were observed.
CONCLUSION: CRM can enhance mood, alleviate somatic symptoms, and improve resilience in elderly participants with memory concerns. It shows promise as a brief, accessible intervention for mental well-being in diverse populations. Larger studies are needed for generalizability, given the limited sample size.
PMID:41460432 | DOI:10.1007/s44192-025-00333-z
