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Health literacy, which is defined as being able to understand and utilize information related to one’s health, is an essential part of the health care process as it is related to health outcomes. However, little is known about health literacy in Black Belt communities in Alabama although this rural area has shown very high rates of health concerns such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer (CDC Interactive Atlas, 2022). Study participants were recruited from the Black Belt areas of Alabama. A total of 180 African-American participants with a mean age of 57.5 completed a survey. A regression analysis was conducted to understand if sociodemographic and other relevant factors would predict health literacy. Lower education, gender, age, perceived racism, and perception that race impacts health care quality predicted health literacy. Interestingly, those with less internet access had significantly lower health literacy. Access to internet and smart phones was a reported concern for over a third of the participants. Only a quarter of participants reported use of the internet to assist with lifestyle modifications while almost half reported internet use to obtain health information; suggesting this as a potential means to improve health literacy and even potential lifestyle modification in health behaviors. Recommendations are made for interventions to improve health literacy in minority populations of this underserved region.

Cancer remains a leading cause of death, especially among older adults. While spouses are commonly involved in the provision of emotional and practical assistance to their ill spouse, their caregiving is not without cost. Although knowledge of an impending death permits preparation for the loss, a long and protracted illness, or one marked by intense caregiving demands, can deplete the well spouse’s personal resources, increasing the risk of morbid bereavement outcomes. Well spouses (n=138), aged 50 and older (mean age 63.6), 41% male, providing 8+ hours of caregiving to a spouse with advanced cancer and a life expectancy of 6 months or less were followed over the terminal illness period. Caregiving spouses’ anticipatory grief, depression and anxiety were all significantly, inversely correlated with sufficiency of social support, specifically tangible, informational and emotional support (p

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the development process of two novel technology-based interventions for depression in older adults while comparing older adults’ preferences for audio-based and computer-based cognitive behavioral therapy for depressive symptoms. The audio program consisted of eight compact discs and a workbook while the computer program consisted of 11 modules of similar duration provided on a tablet PC. Fifty-one older adults were recruited from medical settings and rural communities and randomly assigned to an immediate treatment group (computer or audio) with minimal contact or a four-week minimal contact delayed treatment control condition. Participants rated computer-based and audio-based cognitive behavioral therapy fairly equally, with 75% of those who received audio treatment and 85% of those who received computer-based treatment indicating benefits to their mood. Qualitative experiences will be presented by themes: challenges, benefits, recommended improvements, and technological issues. The goal of the presentation is to share information that may help clinicians and researchers develop other mental health technological interventions tailored for older adults needs.

There is limited research on mental health interventions delivered in a digital game format and even less to guide developers on how to develop such games. This review focuses on understanding how to develop therapeutic digital games based primarily on mental health intervention games that have been empirically tested. The review was generated through database searches and backward search techniques for digital game-based interventions for specific mental disorders. We evaluated digital games that were based on validated psychological treatments. We located 24 studies and 18 games that met our search criteria but only 2 of these studies included older adults. These games and their outcomes will be summarized. This review showed that these types of games have the potential to make an impact on mental health concerns in children and adults but that there are currently few digital games available for the treatment or prevention of mental disorders for older adults. In addition, guidelines for digital mental health intervention game development in older adults will be presented.