Frailty
Conditions
Keywords
Tai Chi, frail, older adults, function
Brief summary
The goals of this study are to examine the physical function, cognitive function, and quality of life among frail elderly residing in the community
Detailed description
This randomized clinical trial recruited 150 frail older adults, assigned to either the intervention groups (Tai Chi vs. Laughing therapy) or the wait-list control group. Tai Chi intervention provided to the Tai Chi group for 12 weeks with 12-week follow-up and pretest and posttest measures will be conducted. Laughing therapy intervention provided 10 weekly sessions for 12 weeks. The primary outcome is the function variables (physical function of balance, flexibility, mobility; cognitive function of MOCA-K) The secondary outcome is quality of life measured by SF36, and healthy aging measured by healthy aging scale.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTai Chi exercise
Sun-style Tai Chi (21 forms)
BEHAVIORALLaughing therapy
10 sessions of laughing therapy by a certified instructor
Sponsors
Chungnam National University
National Research Foundation of Korea
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
the assessor will be blinded for the group assignment. trained research assistant will conduct the pretest and posttest measures, not involved in providing the intervention
Intervention model description
the frail older adults recruited from the community, randomly assigned to either the experimental group (Exercise based intervention vs. laughing therapy intervention) or the wait-list control group.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to 90 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* being frail (3 out of the following 5 criteria): feeling fatigued, difficulty climbing 10 stairs without help, difficulty walking 300m without help, more than 5 chronic illness, weight loss 5 % or more past 1-5 years * living in the community * able to participate in Tai Chi program twice a week
Exclusion criteria
* participated in any formal exercise program past 6 months * not have transportation to come to the class
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| physical function - balance | changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores | balance was assessed using a one-leg-standing balance test (OLST) |
| physical function - flexibility | changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores | flexibility was assessed by the standard sit-and-reach test (SSRT) |
| physical function - mobility | changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores | mobility was assessed by the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) |
| cognitive function | changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores | MOCA-K (Korean version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment) was used with the maximum score of 30. (more than 23 is normal and less than 13 is dementia, more cognitively impaired) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Short Form health survey 36 (SF36) | changes from pretest to 12 week posttest scores | Short Form health survey 13 which consists of eight dimensions: general health, physical functioning, role physical, body pain, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, and mental health. two summary scores for the physical and mental components of health-related QoL are calculated by using the weighted means for the eight domains. Higher scores indicate better health-related QoL. |
Countries
South Korea
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORRhayun Song, PhD
Chungnam National University
Outcome results
None listed