Jackson Heart Study Women's Hypertension Study

8-week program delivered to small groups by a trained facilitator using Zoom/Webex. Each session is one hour long and includes a check-in period, teaching on the week's topic, group discussion, a skill-building exercise and home practice assignment. Participants receive a workbook of all session content, audio guides for home practice, and practice logs. At the start of the program, the stress response and its importance for hypertension and cardiovascular disease is discussed, and the rationale for the mindfulness and cognitive skills to be taught are explained. Weekly sessions focus on learning and practicing skills.

The BOOST program is designed to control for attention, credibility, and expectation of benefit. To parallel MIND-BP, the BOOST program will be delivered in 8 weekly group sessions via Zoom/Webex and led by a trained facilitator. Each weekly BOOST session will be 1 hour long and comprised of a check-in period, introduction of the week's topic, and group discussion. Didactic information, skill-building instruction and home practice are not included. Weekly BOOST session topics include: (1) personal experience of hypertension; (2) personal experience of stress; (3) personal experience of mood-related challenges; (4) personal experience of social relationships; (5) concerns related to hypertension treatment; (6) concerns about other health problems; (7) personal experience related to healthcare; and (8) review of the BOOST experience.