Areum Han

Areum Han
Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor (P), Occupational Therapy , School of Health Professions

Overview

Dr. Han is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at UAB. She started working at UAB in September 2019. Dr. Han's research interests are psychological and behavioral interventions for caregivers of older adults (e.g., family caregivers of people with dementia), older adults, and people with neurological disorders. Dr. Han has served as an Associate Editor in American Journal of Occupational Therapy since May 2022.

Selected Publications

Academic Article

Year	Title	Altmetric
2023	A qualitative study exploring experiences of distressed family caregivers of people with dementia in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic 2023
2023	Correlations between Social Determinants of Health and Technology Access among Rural African American Alabamians. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 34:21-34. 2023
2023	Effects of a coach-guided videoconferencing acceptance and commitment therapy intervention combined with psychoeducation on distressed individuals living with spinal cord injury: a preliminary mixed-methods study. Disability and Rehabilitation. 45:644-654. 2023
2023	Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Interventions for Stroke Survivors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin. 66:123-135. 2023
2023	The feasibility and preliminary effects of a pilot randomized controlled trial: Videoconferencing acceptance and commitment therapy in distressed family caregivers of people with dementia. Journal of Health Psychology. 2023
2022	Efficacy of Internet-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, Stress, Psychological Distress, and Quality of Life: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis 2022
2022	Does the Use of Social Media Affect Online Health Information-Seeking Behaviors among Underserved African Americans in Rural Alabama?. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. 33:1949-1964. 2022
2022	The Effects of Internet-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Process Measures: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis 2022
2022	Effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, Stress, and Quality of Life in Family Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis 2022
2022	Effects of internet-delivered behavioral activation on individuals with depressive symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 152:104-118. 2022
2022	Exploring Associations of Psychological Inflexibility With Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety, and Stress in Individuals Living With a Spinal Cord Injury: A Cross-Sectional Study. Rehabilitation Psychology. 67:170-178. 2022
2022	Effects of mindfulness-based interventions on psychological distress and mindfulness in incarcerated populations: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health. 32:48-59. 2022
2022	A Quasi-experimental Study Measuring the Effectiveness of Two Empathy Enhancement Programs on Caregivers Working with Older Adults Living Alone 2022
2022	Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Guided Online for Distressed Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia 2022
2022	Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Older Adults with Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Meta-Analysis 2022
2021	The Development and Satisfaction of Cock-up Splint Production Method with 3D Printing Applying 2D Scan 2021
2021	Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Interventions for Symptom Reduction in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 102:2022-2031.e4. 2021
2021	Effectiveness of simulation-based empathy enhancement program for caregivers (See-c) evaluated by older adults receiving care. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18. 2021
2021	Effectiveness of empathy enhancement programs for social workers working with older adults: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Social Work. 21:913-930. 2021
2021	Effects of mindfulness-and acceptance-based interventions on quality of life, coping, cognition, and mindfulness of people with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology, Health and Medicine. 2021
2021	A factorial randomized controlled trial to examine separate and combined effects of a simulation-based empathy enhancement program and a lecture-based education program on family caregivers of people with dementia. Aging and Mental Health. 25:1930-1940. 2021
2021	A simulation-based empathy enhancement program for non-medical care providers of older adults: A mixed-methods study. Psychiatry investigation. 18:132-139. 2021
2021	Acceptance and commitment therapy for family caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Health Psychology. 26:82-102. 2021
2020	Effects of acceptance and commitment therapy on process measures of family caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. 18:201-213. 2020
2020	Experiences of caregivers of people with dementia in a Korean dementia simulation program 2020
2020	Compassionate Touch^® Delivered by Long-term Care Staff for Residents with Dementia: Preliminary Results. Journal of Social Service Research. 46:685-692. 2020
2020	The use of motivational interviewing during an interdisciplinary Service-Learning activity for older adults at risk for dementia. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education. 41:206-218. 2020
2020	Learning Experiences of Older Volunteers in a Community-based Social Program for People with Dementia. Journal of Social Service Research. 46:225-235. 2020
2020	A systematic review on empathy measurement tools for care professionals 2020
2020	Interventions for Attitudes and Empathy Toward People With Dementia and Positive Aspects of Caregiving: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 2020
2020	Experiences of Caregivers in a Dementia Simulation Program. Journal of Social Service Research. 46:71-80. 2020
2020	Impact of Family-Centered Early Intervention in Infants with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Single-Subject Design. Occupational Therapy International. 2020. 2020
2019	Effects of Korean dementia simulation program for caregivers of the elderly with dementia: A pilot study 2019
2019	Predictors of instrumental activities of daily living in community-dwelling older adults. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 33:43-50. 2019
2019	Interventions for Caregivers of People With Dementia : A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials 2019
2019	Development and reliability of the Korean version of the Feeding Abilities Assessment. Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy. 32:69-74. 2019
2019	Feasibility of Training and Delivering Compassionate Touch in Long-Term Care 2019
2019	Characteristics and effects of lifestyle intervention for community dwelling older adults: A systematic review 2019
2019	Older Adults’ Perspectives on Volunteering in an Activity-Based Social Program for People with Dementia 2019
2019	A Systematic Review of Effective Interventions to Improve Executive Function of Children and Adolescents With ADHD 2019
2019	Effect of Physical Activity on Executive Function for Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review 2019
2019	Effect of Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement Combined With Neck Muscle Vibration to Unilateral Neglect and Performance of Activities of Daily Living on Chronic Stroke Patient: A Single Subject Research Design 2019
2019	뇌졸중 환자의 연하장애 치료 효과에 대한 체계적 고찰 2019
2018	Perspectives of caregivers and volunteers on Stepping Stones for people with dementia. Hong Kong Journal of Occupational Therapy. 31:86-96. 2018
2017	The risk of stroke in spouses of people living with dementia in Korea. International Journal of Stroke. 12:851-857. 2017
2017	The Benefits of a Person-Centered Social Program for Community-Dwelling People with Dementia: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis 2017
2016	Spousal Caregiver Perspectives on a Person-Centered Social Program for Partners with Dementia. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. 31:465-473. 2016
2016	The Benefits of Individualized Leisure and Social Activity Interventions for People with Dementia: A Systematic Review 2016
2016	Perspectives of People with Dementia about Meaningful Activities. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias. 31:115-123. 2016

Chapter

Year	Title	Altmetric
2016	CHAPTER 14 Cognitive executive abilities in aging and everyday life. 235-244. 2016
2014	Advanced major neurocognitive disorder: Effect on occupation and occupational therapy evaluation and intervention 2014

Research Overview

Dr. Han's research interests are developing and testing psychological and behavioral interventions for caregivers of older adults (e.g., family caregivers of people with dementia), older adults, and people with neurological disorders.
She has actively served as the PI or a Co-I in internally or externally funded projects, including TWU Chancellor’s Research Fellows Program (2016-2017), Korean government grants from 2018 to 2023 (National Research Foundation of Korea, the Ministry of Health & Welfare, and the Ministry of Science & ICT), American Occupational Therapy Foundation Intervention Research Grant (2021-2022), Alzheimer’s Association Research Grant (2022-2025), and Paralyzed Veterans of America Research Foundation (2023-2025).

Principal Investigator On

A Guided Eight-week Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) Intervention for Distressed Family Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Mixed-methods Pilot Study awarded by American Occupational Therapy Foundation

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Supplemented with Psychoeducation for Improving Mental Health of Depressed Individuals Living with Spinal Cord Injury Sustained Within 5 Years awarded by Paralyzed Veterans of America

Guided Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Dementia Caregivers awarded by Alzheimer's Association

Teaching Overview

Dr. Han taught courses related to research methodology, psychology, and older adults at Texas Woman's University and Yonsei University (South Korea). Dr. Han also gave lectures in various courses at the University of Kansas Medical Center while working as a graduate teaching assistant in the OT department for 4 years. Dr. Han has been teaching research courses for OT students and PhD students in rehabilitation science at UAB, including OT 653, OT 704, RHB 783, and RHB 784.