Effect of a Pedometer-Based, 24-Week Walking Intervention on Depression and Acculturative Stress among Migrant Women Workers.
Little research has examined exercise-based interventions meant to alleviate depressive symptoms among Korean-Chinese migrant women workers living in Korea. Thus, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a 24-week walking program on reducing depressive symptoms and acculturative stress levels in this population. This quasi-experimental sequential walking program was conducted with 132 Korean-Chinese women over a period of 24 weeks. Participants were divided into either a standard treatment group (n = 69) or enhanced treatment group (n = 63). All participants were instructed to walk using a pedometer. The enhanced treatment group also received mobile text messages designed to encourage walking adherence and improve acculturation. Participants were asked to complete two structured questionnaires, the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Acculturative Stress Scale, to evaluate the intervention programs. At the end of the program, both groups exhibited decreased depression scores, but the decrease in the enhanced treatment group was more significant both at weeks 12 and 24. Acculturative stress was also found to have decreased at weeks 12 and 24. Our findings show the walking program reduced the depressive symptoms and acculturative stress levels among the Korean-Chinese women in this study. Further studies will be needed to analyze the relationship between walking step count and mental health considering exercise intensity.
['Kim|Youlim|Y|', 'Lee|Young-Me|YM|', 'Cho|Mikyeong|M|', 'Lee|Hyeonkyeong|H|']
D000069:Acculturation D000328:Adult D000368:Aged D044466:Asians D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008603:Mental Health D008875:Middle Aged D056910:Republic of Korea D013315:Stress, Psychological D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014171:Transients and Migrants D016138:Walking D000076251:Wearable Electronic Devices
cognitive-behavioral therapy health behavior health promotion physical activity physical intervention