# A Web-App Based Lifestyle Physical Activity Promotion Program to Improve Depressive Symptom Experience: Midlife Korean American Women

> **NIH NIH R01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $547,750

## Abstract

With an increasing multicultural aging population in the U.S., depressive symptoms in midlife racial/ethnic
minorities are becoming increasingly significant. The prevalence of depression among Asian Americans is
about 4.5 times higher than that of Americans in general. Within the Asian- American demographic, Korean
Americans have the highest rate of depression. Within the Korean-American group, midlife Korean-American
women are at increased risk of depressive symptoms because of their gender and age. Furthermore, the
recent COVID19 pandemic has placed additional stress to this specific population. Korean Americans have a
cultural preference for natural lifestyle management strategies (e.g., promotion of lifestyle physical activity) for
depression as opposed to pharmacotherapy, and there is a cultural emphasis on one’s ability to handle
stresses without outside assistance. A technology-based program using a web app could provide a highly
innovative and effective way to promote lifestyle physical activity and improve depressive symptoms
experienced by this specific population in a manner that appeals to their cultural preference. Yet, few programs
are available for this specific population and little is known about the efficacy of technology-based interventions
in improving depressive symptoms of racial/ethnic minority women including this population. Based on
Preliminary Studies, the research team has developed and pilot-tested the Web-App based Lifestyle Physical
Activity Promotion Program in improving depressive symptom experience of midlife Korean American women
(WPAPP-K). WPAPP-K has several unique features that overcome the shortcomings of existing programs
such as surface and deep cultural tailoring and social media functions. The purpose of this randomized
intervention study is to determine the efficacy of WPAPP-K in improving depressive symptom experience of
midlife Korean American women. The specific aims are to: (a) determine whether the intervention group will
show significantly greater improvements than the control group in self-reported depressive symptom
experience from a pre-test (T0) to post 6-months (T1) and post 12-months (T2); (b) determine whether the
intervention group will show significantly greater improvements than the control group in self-reported lifestyle
physical activity experience from T0 to T1 and T2; (c) identify whether physical activity experience mediates
the intervention effects of the WPAPP-K on depressive symptom experience from T0 to T2; and (d) determine
whether the effects of WPAPP-K on depressive symptom experience are moderated by selected factors. The
study is theoretically guided by the Bandura’s Theory of Behavioral Change and the Stress and Coping
framework by Lazarus and Folkman. The study adopts a randomized repeated measures pretest/posttest
control group design among 300 midlife Korean American women who are nationally recruited. The long-term
goals are to: (a) implement the program in various pr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10405872
- **Project number:** 1R01NR020334-01
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Wonshik Chee
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $547,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-04-06 → 2027-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10405872

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10405872, A Web-App Based Lifestyle Physical Activity Promotion Program to Improve Depressive Symptom Experience: Midlife Korean American Women (1R01NR020334-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10405872. Licensed CC0.

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