A self-guided app-based mindfulness intervention was effective and feasible in reducing discrimination-related stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among racially and ethnically minoritized individuals compared to treatment as usual.
The DMHI group experienced significantly greater reductions in stress compared to the TAU group by end of the 4-week program.
The DMHI group experienced significantly greater reductions in anxiety compared to the TAU group.
The DMHI group experienced significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms compared to the TAU group.
The app-based mindfulness intervention demonstrated high uptake, with all DMHI participants downloading and using the app.
Overall study dropout was low at 8%, though most dropouts occurred in the intervention group.
Participants in the DMHI group reported high satisfaction with the intervention by end of treatment.
The study sample was composed of racially and ethnically minoritized individuals who are significantly underrepresented in digital mental health intervention research.
Racially and ethnically minoritized individuals who experience discrimination are at elevated risk for stress, anxiety, and depression, and are underserved by existing digital mental health interventions.
This research suggests that a smartphone app delivering self-guided mindfulness meditation over four weeks can meaningfully reduce stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in people from racially and ethnically minoritized groups who experience discrimination. In the trial, 155 participants — including Latinx, Asian, Black, Multiracial, and Native American individuals — were randomly assigned either to use the mindfulness app daily for four weeks or to seek mental health support on their own. Those using the app showed significantly greater improvements across all three mental health outcomes, with effect sizes described as large, and more than half of app users reached a level of improvement considered clinically meaningful for stress and depression. The study also found the app to be highly feasible: every person assigned to the app actually downloaded and used it, participants meditated for nearly four hours on average across the program, and most reported being satisfied with the experience. Dropout from the overall study was low at 8%, though slightly higher in the app group (14%) than the control group. These engagement numbers suggest that this type of self-guided digital tool is both accessible and acceptable to these communities. This research matters because racially and ethnically minoritized people are rarely included in studies of digital mental health tools, making it unclear whether those tools actually work for them. This trial provides evidence that a self-guided, app-based mindfulness program can be an effective and practical option for addressing the mental health impacts of discrimination, potentially offering a low-barrier, scalable way to improve mental health equity for communities that are often underserved by traditional mental health services.
Ramos G, Montoya A, Aguilera A, Lau A, Enders C, Wen Y, et al.. (2026). A Self-Guided App-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Individuals Who Experience Discrimination-Related Mental Health Symptoms: Randomized Controlled Trial.. Journal of medical Internet research. https://doi.org/10.2196/84328