Soonhyung Kwon, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Social Work has received the New Researcher Grant for the project titled Augmented Reality Physical Activity for Cardiovascular Health in Older Adults.
The project in collaboration with Zhao Han, PhD, assistant professor in the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing will develop and pilot-test an augmented reality–based physical activity intervention designed to promote cardiovascular health among community-dwelling older adults. Using a single-arm pilot trial with adults ages 65 and older, the study will evaluate the intervention’s feasibility, acceptability, usability, and preliminary effects on cardiovascular health indicators, including blood pressure, BMI, and medication adherence.
Findings from the study will inform future external funding applications to integrate AI-driven personalization features and evaluate the intervention in a larger randomized controlled trial.
The New Researcher Grants are designed for faculty to develop new research projects who do not have established funding sources and are new to USF. The program’s goal is to enable faculty to launch productive research, scholarship, or artistic expression/performance activities that will ultimately result in grant funding from external agencies or foundations.