Ashley Kendall, Ph.D., and the MindfulTech Lab in CDIS
Ashley Kendall, Ph.D., and the MindfulTech Lab in CDIS Heading link
Ashley Kendall, Ph.D., and the MindfulTech Lab in CDIS received 2 R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand their work systematically implementing and evaluating app-based meditation programs in the juvenile legal system. Both projects build on a recently completed K99/R00 study for which the team partnered with legal-involved youth in Chicago Cook County to adapt, implement, and pilot test a meditation app for youth on probation. The pilot trial strongly supported feasibility, including high objective app usage. The first new study, funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) will expand pilot testing of the meditation app into 4 legal systems in Oregon and New York, allowing the team to establish relationships and assess feasibility across diverse populations and legal settings. The second study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), will feature a hybrid type 2 effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate health and implementation outcomes associated with the meditation app in Chicago Cook County, including its effects on sexual health and substance use among youth on probation. These projects are part of a larger body of work out of the MindfulTech Lab, including an R34 study adapting and pilot testing a meditation app for officers in the juvenile legal system.