# Identifying and Targeting Unique Physical Activity Determinants for Midlife Women

> **NIH NIH K23** · ROWAN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $157,132

## Abstract

Cardiovascular risk and mortality is uniquely elevated among midlife women due to factors such as
menopause and gender differences in cardiovascular event symptom presentation. Physical activity (PA) is
critical to reducing risk in midlife women; however, this group confronts distinctive psychosocial barriers to
PA that rarely are addressed by existing interventions. Current evidence and the candidate’s pilot data
indicate that these barriers are negative mood, body satisfaction, and social comparison (i.e., evaluating
one’s PA relative to that of peers). Mobile health tools such as smartphone applications have the ability to
intervene on these barriers in real time, but developing effective tools requires a sophisticated
understanding of (1) when PA occurs and determinants of PA for particular individuals in their natural
environments, and (2) the ability to optimize this information for mobile delivery. The proposed K23 training
program will address these needs by focusing on the following training goals: ambulatory assessment of PA
and its psychosocial determinants, advanced statistical methods, individual tailoring of PA programs (with
an emphasis on mobile intervention development), women’s health, and cardiovascular physiology. Training
will include apprenticeships and tutorials with experts in each of these topics, as well as coursework in
intensive ambulatory assessment, mobile application design, and physiology. To support this plan, the
proposed research will investigate PA and its determinants among midlife female primary care patients with
cardiovascular risk markers. Aim 1 of this research is to examine relations between real-time psychosocial
experiences (i.e., mood, body satisfaction, social comparison) and PA among at-risk midlife women (n=100,
age 40-60; 27>BMI<50 with one additional cardiovascular risk marker). This will allow for further
optimization of a mobile health tool tailored for midlife women. Aim 2 of this research is to refine and pilot
test a novel mobile PA application tailored for at-risk midlife women (n=30, age 40-60; 27>BMI<50 with one
additional CVD risk marker). Achieving these project aims will produce multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts
and a strong R01 proposal focused on testing a well-informed, tailored mobile intervention for midlife women
at risk for developing CVD. This research builds on the candidate’s training to date and introduces an
innovative way to understand and promote PA in midlife women. The goals of this K23 program are directly
responsive to NHLBI’s strategic plan, as they will allow for improved primary prevention through increased
understanding of determinants of disease risk, and the proposed program will contribute to improving
interventions tailored to patient needs and barriers. The excellent training, protected time, and project
resources of the proposed K23 program will prepare the candidate to become a leading patient-oriented
researcher with expertise in PA promotion for cardiova...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9876959
- **Project number:** 5K23HL136657-04
- **Recipient organization:** ROWAN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Danielle Arigo
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $157,132
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-03-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9876959

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9876959, Identifying and Targeting Unique Physical Activity Determinants for Midlife Women (5K23HL136657-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9876959. Licensed CC0.

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