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Soonhyung Kwon

Postdoctoral Research Associate
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research

PhD, Social Work – University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

MSW, Social Work – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

MA, Social Policy – University of York

BA, Social Welfare – Soonchunhyang University

Dr. Kwon’s research has focused primarily on gerontology, positive psychology, health disparities in ethnic minorities, and technology-based interventions using online, mobile applications, and virtual reality. He seeks to uncover solutions to promote social justice and identify factors that ultimately promote resilience and flourishing in racial/ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups. In qualitative research, he has explored the prevalence of anti-Asian racism and health disparities in older Korean Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to reduce the health disparities, he has implemented a virtual reality-based culturally tailored mindfulness-positive psychological intervention for older Korean Americans with perceived discrimination and identified its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy.