VIRTUAL REALITY INTERVENTION FOR STRESS, RESILIENCE, AND BLOOD PRESSURE MANAGEMENT IN BLACK WOMEN - REALIST WOMEN STUDY A VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) INTERVENON FOR STRESS, RESILIENCE, AND BLOOD PRESSURE MANAGEMENT IN BLACK WOMEN BACKGROUND: BLACK WOMEN HAVE A HIGHER RATE (APPROXIMATELY 60%) OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) RISK MARKERS (E.G., HYPERTENSION) COMPARED TO THEIR WHITE FEMALE COUNTERPARTS AGED 20 AND OLDER (45.4%). ADDIONALLY, BLACK WOMEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER FROM INSUFFICIENT SLEEP (LESS THAN 6 HOURS), INCREASING THEIR CVD RISKS. STRESSORS, ESPECIALLY COMPLEX AND CUMULAVE INTERSECONAL STRESSORS (SUCH AS ECONOMIC STRAIN, CAREGIVER BURDEN, RACIAL STRESS, AND GENDER DISCRIMINAON) EXPERIENCED BY BLACK WOMEN, ARE UPSTREAM DETERMINANTS OF HYPERTENSION AND INSUFFICIENT SLEEP. TO COPE WITH INTERSECONAL STRESS, BLACK WOMEN HAVE DEVELOPED UNIQUE FORMS OF RESILIENCE. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENTS DO NOT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS INTERSECONAL STRESS. THEREFORE, TO ADDRESS THE INTERSECONAL DISTRESS EXPERIENCED BY BLACK WOMEN, WE NEED BEHAVIORAL TREATMENTS THAT CAN PROVIDE THERAPEUC RELIEF WHEN NEEDED. INNOVAON AND APPROACH: REALIST WOMEN STUDY AIMS TO PILOT TEST THE EFFECVENESS OF A CULTURALLY TAILORED VR-EXPOSURE STRESS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN ADDRESSING INTERSECONAL STRESS AND IMPROVING CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH IN BLACK WOMEN. THIS K01 STUDY AIMS TO CONDUCT FOCUS GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS WITH 16 BLACK WOMEN TO DEVELOP A COMMUNITY-DEFINED CONCEPT OF RESILIENCE. ADDIONALLY, THE STUDY WILL ASSESS STRESS, SLEEP HEALTH, AND FEEDBACK ON USING VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT. IT WILL ALSO EXPLORE BARRIERS AND MIGAON STRATEGIES RELATED TO IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY USAGE AMONG BLACK WOMEN DEALING WITH THE SUPERWOMAN SCHEMA COPING (SSC). THE STUDY IS A PILOT RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIAL WITH (RCT) A TOTAL OF 60 PARCIPANTS, FOCUSING ON HYPERTENSIVE BLACK WOMEN. THE HYPOTHESIS IS THAT PARCIPANTS IN THE STRESS MANAGEMENT VIRTUAL REALITY (VR-SM) GROUP (N=30) WILL EXPERIENCE REDUCED STRESS (A MINIMUM 12-POINT REDUCON IN CUMULAVE INTERSECONAL STRESS SCORES), AN INCREASE OF AT LEAST 0.77 POINTS IN CD-RISC SCORES, MORE DAYS OF SUFFICIENT SLEEP (AT LEAST 7), A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN BLOOD PRESSURE (BP), AND ADHERENCE TO THE VR-SM PROGRAM (USING AT LEAST 50% OF THE TOTAL MODULES). THIS RESEARCH SEEKS TO ADDRESS A CRICAL GAP IN THE LITERATURE BY EXPLORING THE FEASIBILITY AND IMPACT OF VR- BASED INTERVENONS IN THIS UNDERSERVED POPULAON. RELEVANCE: THE STUDY AIMS TO REDUCE MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY ASSOCIATED WITH HYPERTENSION AND INSUFFICIENT SLEEP IN BLACK WOMEN BY PROVIDING AN INNOVAVE AND ACCESSIBLE VR-BASED INTERVENON TAILORED TO THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS. THIS RESEARCH REPRESENTS A CRUCIAL STEP IN ADDRESSING HEALTH DISPARIES AND IMPROVING CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES IN THIS HIGH-RISK DEMOGRAPHIC. THIS K01 AWARD WILL PROVIDE PILOT DATA FOR AN R01-LEVEL RCT TO DEVELOP A VR-DELIVERED, CULTURALLY TAILORED MINDFULNESS-BASED STRESS REDUCON (MBSR) PROGRAM TO ENHANCE RESILIENCE TO CUMULAVE INTERSECONAL STRESS AND BP MANAGEMENT FOR BLACK WOMEN. IT WILL ALSO FURTHER THE CANDIDATE'S TRAINING IN PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA RESEARCH AND BIOBEHAVIORAL MEDICINE, EQUIPPING HER WITH NEW SKILLS IN PRACCE-BASED CLINICAL TRIALS, DIGITAL HEALTH INTERVENONS, ACGRAPHY, ECOLOGICAL MOMENTARY ASSESSMENTS, AND ADVANCED RESEARCH DESIGN AND ANALYSIS. THESE SKILLS WILL ENSURE HER SUCCESS AS AN INDEPENDENT INVESGATOR FOCUSED ON INVESGANG AND ADDRESSING UNIQUE STRESS RESPONSES AMONG MINORIZED POPULAONS WHILE EXAMINING THE EFFECTS AND MECHANISMS OF SCALABLE DIGITAL HEALTH SOLUONS FOR BLACK WOMEN EXPERIENCING ELEVATED STRESS LEVELS, POOR SLEEP, CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH ISSUES, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE.