# Efficacy of a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Depression in Older Spousally-bereaved Adults-Supplement

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $180,020

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Older spousally-bereaved adults are at very high risk for major depressive disorder (MDD). In the age of
COVID-19, the inability to engage in rituals that support the grieving process will make it much more difficult to
cope with the death of a spouse. This proposed Administrative Supplement leverages our funded R01 “Efficacy
of a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Depression in Older Spousally-bereaved Adults” (WELL) to
increase the reach, uptake, and sustainability of our existing behavioral-health intervention to accommodate
older spouses bereaved by COVID-19 who are seeking prevention and self-management strategies to manage
psychiatric symptoms both during and following the pandemic. We will use digital advertising to optimize reach
and access in geographic locations heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To promote adherence to
and sustained use of WELL, we will use existing data (K01 MH103467) to identify individual and intervention-
level characteristics that are associated with discontinuation vs sustained use of digital interventions for mental
health support. Additional measurements of death, dying, and bereavement (preparedness for death, lack of
closure, social isolation, and loss of mourning rituals) will be obtained for the 100 participants recruited over the
Supplement’s two-year time frame. The data will be used to examine both the impact of COVID-19 death on
depression symptoms (collected through this supplement) and trajectories of depression symptoms over one
year (collected through this supplement during the WELL follow-up time period). The aims of the proposed
research will examine in older spousally-bereaved adults at high risk for MDD (due to subthreshold symptoms
of depression) (1) whether depression symptom burden is higher in older spouses bereaved by COVID-19 than
those bereaved by other causes of death; and (2) whether COVID-19 bereavement is associated with other
psychopathological conditions including anxiety, post-traumatic stress, suicidal ideation, and prolonged grief
disorder(s). In sum, WELL provides a unique opportunity to examine the relationship between COVID-19 death
and surviving spouses’ psychiatric symptoms in a large longitudinal study of community-dwelling older spouses
particularly vulnerable to MDD due to spousal bereavement.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10217532
- **Project number:** 3R01MH118270-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah T Stahl
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $180,020
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-08-23 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10217532

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10217532, Efficacy of a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Depression in Older Spousally-bereaved Adults-Supplement (3R01MH118270-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10217532. Licensed CC0.

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