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Tai Chi -- Moving for Better Balance

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Tai Chi--Moving for Better Balance is a 12-week falls prevention program targeted at residents aged 60 and over. It was implemented in five cities in Lane County, Oregon: Eugene, Springfield, Santa Clara, Junction City, and Cottage Grove between April 2006 and April 2007. Participants attended one-hour classes, twice a week, for 12 weeks. The program focused on 8-form tai chi. Each class began with 5-10 minutes of warm-up exercises, moved on to 40-45 minutes of tai chi instruction and practice, and ended with 5 minutes of cool-down exercises. The program also distributed recordings of tai chi lessons to participants and encouraged them to continue practicing at home.

This program was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Goal / Mission

To use tai chi exercise to improve balance and decrease incidence of falls among older adults.

Impact

The program shows that ta chi can significantly improve health-related outcome measures in older adults and such a program can be practically and effectively implemented and maintained in community settings.

Results / Accomplishments

Building on previous research to develop a falls-prevention community program, the Oregon Research Institute implemented this program to test the efficacy of tai chi exercise to prevent falls among the elderly (aged 60 and over). Comparing pre-intervention and post-intervention assessments, researchers found that participants had demonstrated significant (p<0.001) improvements in a range of physical tests, including functional reach, the up and go test, chair stands, and the 50-foot speed walk. Participants' physical and mental health summary scores had also significantly (p<0.001) improved. While seven of the 135 participants who provided data reported one or more falls in the first six weeks of the class, no falls were reported in weeks seven to 12 of the 12-week program. Only two participants of 105 participants contacted in a 12-week post-intervention follow-up call reported experiencing a single fall each in the post-intervention period.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Oregon Research Institute
Primary Contact
Dr. Fuzhong Li
Oregon Research Institute
1776 Millrace Dr.
Eugene, OR 97403
(541) 484-2123
fuzhongl@ori.org
http://www.ori.org/research/detail/preventing_fall...
Topics
Health / Older Adults
Health / Prevention & Safety
Health / Wellness & Lifestyle
Organization(s)
Oregon Research Institute
Date of publication
Jul 2008
Date of implementation
Apr 2006
For more details
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/A...
Target Audience
Older Adults

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.
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