# Personal relevance of psychotherapy for Asian Americans: A mHealth problem-solving intervention to reduce stress (PRoP-AA)

> **NIH NIH R44** · IRIS MEDIA, INC. · 2022 · $822,334

## Abstract

Abstract
 The proposed intervention, Personal relevance of psychotherapy for Asian Americans: A mHealth problem-
solving intervention to reduce stress, is designed 1) to increase the use of mental health services by a
population that uses them at one third the rate of Whites,1 and 2) to develop a personally-relevant approach to
stress-reduction. Practical and cultural barriers inhibit the use of mental health services by Asian Americans2
including a lack of fluency in English amongst specific subpopulations, 3 insufficient health literacy, 2 and stigma
surrounding mental illness which stems from Asian American cultural beliefs shared across subpopulations. 4-6
With the rise in discrimination against Asian Americans during the current health crisis related to Covid-19 ,7,8
their physical and mental health may be adversely impacted, 9 reinforcing the need for an improved option that
addresses these barriers. This proposal aims to develop a mHealth (mobile health) application that is
systematically adapted to be culturally relevant to select Asian American subpopulations. If successful, future
development would extend the app to additional groups.
 Identifying personally-relevant interventions has the potential to reduce persistent mental health disparities
among ethnic minority groups 10 by increasing engagement with mental health services. Problem-Solving
Therapy (PST), the intervention that will be used for this project, is likely to be personally relevant to Asian
Americans. PST is a skills-based, psychosocial intervention to assist individuals in managing the negative
effects of stressful events which is an effective intervention for reducing psychopathology, such as
depression 11 and a variety of other psychological difficulties. 12 An external problem-solving orientation is
culturally-syntonic to Asian values. 13
 The proposed mHealth app first will be developed for Chinese Americans and Korean Americans. The
project will assess and adapt the PST using a systematic approach that integrates two frameworks, the top-
down Psychotherapy Adaptation and Modification Framework (PAMF) 14 and the bottom-up Formative Method
for Adapting Psychotherapy (FMAP). 15 In addition, the app layout, text, video, and audio content will be
localized. Users will have access to at least five modules in the app, an introduction and one module for each
of the four skills that comprise PST. The app will include video modeling of skills by Asian Americans and
interactive features that will allow users to apply skills learned like writing down ideas and developing a plan.
 In Phase I, the project team will: a) design and develop a minimum viable product using an iterative, user-
centered approach. In Phase II, the project team will: a) complete content and app development, and b)
conduct a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention. When the study concludes,
PRoP-AA will be the first evidence-based PST mobile app designed for Asian Americans...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10495606
- **Project number:** 4R44MH125698-02
- **Recipient organization:** IRIS MEDIA, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** GORDON C. Nagayama HALL
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $822,334
- **Award type:** 4N
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10495606

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10495606, Personal relevance of psychotherapy for Asian Americans: A mHealth problem-solving intervention to reduce stress (PRoP-AA) (4R44MH125698-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10495606. Licensed CC0.

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