# No time to pause: Physical activity to improve health and well-being of midlife Hispanic women during the menopausal transition

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON · 2024 · $171,172

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
The menopausal transition (MT) in midlife is a critical juncture where women experience life transitions and
adverse physiological and psychological changes that increase the risk for hypertension (HTN) and
cardiovascular diseases in later life. Physical activity (PA) improves blood pressure (BP), biomarkers of HTN,
sleep, mood, and well-being; however, Hispanic women meet PA at lower levels than non-Hispanic White
women. A potential explanation is that interventions to increase objectively measured PA are rarely designed
to engage, measure, and test the key mechanisms responsible for PA behavior. In addition, contextually
appropriate PA interventions specific to the needs of midlife Hispanic women are lacking. The purpose of the
proposed mixed-methods K23 Patient-Oriented Research Mentored Career Development Award aims provide
the necessary training, mentorship, and research to fill the current gaps in the PA literature. The training and
mentorship objectives of the proposed K23 project build upon the candidate's previous training and clinical
experience as a registered nurse to focus on the following four areas: 1) understand the menopausal- and
aging-related health and endocrine changes of midlife women; 2) develop and evaluate interventions targeting
behavior change mechanisms based on the NIH Stage Model; 3) increase proficiency in employing
community-based participatory research and cultural competence; and 4) accelerate professional
advancement and leadership development. The candidate has assembled a mentoring team consisting of
renowned leaders and experts in aging, menopause, behavior change, intervention development and testing,
community engagement, and Hispanic health to guide her throughout the K23 award period. The training and
mentorship will promote achievement of the following specific aims: 1) identify and operationalize the
behavioral, psychological, and social mechanisms that drive PA behavior of midlife Hispanic women; 2) employ
community-based participatory research with midlife Hispanic women to develop a novel PA intervention
targeting key behavior change mechanisms with the goal of increasing objectively-measured PA among
sedentary midlife Hispanic women in the community setting; and 3) examine the feasibility of the PA
intervention among sedentary midlife Hispanic women in the MT with elevated BP, exploring changes in PA
behavior mechanisms, PA minutes, BP, biomarkers of HTN, menopause symptoms, sleep, mood, and well-
being. Findings from this K23 will inform a large-scale randomized clinical trial to test the intervention to
improve PA behavior mechanisms, PA, health, and well-being of midlife Hispanic women in the community
setting. Completion of the K23 mentored training and research activities will provide the necessary knowledge
and skills to develop the candidate's long-term research goal to employ community-based participatory
research to develop sustainable interventions to ameliorate the advers...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10886206
- **Project number:** 1K23AG083231-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MED BR GALVESTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Lorenzo
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $171,172
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-01 → 2029-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10886206

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10886206, No time to pause: Physical activity to improve health and well-being of midlife Hispanic women during the menopausal transition (1K23AG083231-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10886206. Licensed CC0.

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