Examining Equity in Access and Utilization of a Freely Available Meditation App.
Zishan Jiwani, Raquel Tatar, Cortland Dahl, Christine D Wilson-Mendenhall, Matthew J Hirshberg, Richard J Davidson, Simon B Goldberg
npj Mental Health Research April 18, 2023 DOI: 10.1038/s44184-023-00025-y (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 66,482 |
| Population | US-based users of the Healthy Minds Program meditation app |
| Duration | October 2019 to July 2022 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Access to care Health disparities Digital technology Smartphone apps Meditation-based interventions |
| Key findings | College education was associated with greater likelihood of accessing and continuing to use a free meditation app, while African American identity was associated with lower likelihood of access and continued use. African Americans were more likely to access content from an African American meditation teacher, but this did not appear to increase utilization. |
Abstract
Digital interventions have the potential to alleviate mental health disparities for marginalized and minoritized communities. The current study examined whether disparities in access and utilization of meditation in the United States (US) were reduced for a freely available meditation app. We analyzed demographic and usage data from US-based users of the Healthy Minds Program (HMP; N = 66,482) between October 2019 and July 2022. College education was associated with a greater likelihood of accessing (65.0% of users vs. 32.9% of the US population) and continuing to utilize the app (β = .11-.17). Conversely, identifying as African American was associated lower likelihood of accessing (5.3% vs. 13.4% of US population) and continuing to utilize the app (β = -.02-.03). African Americans were more likely to access content from an African American meditation teacher, but this did not appear to increase utilization. Additional efforts are warranted to identify factors which might reduce disparities.