Community Dissemination of Tai Ji Quan

Translating an Effective Fall Prevention Program Into a Community-Based Practice

The overarching objective of this project is to assess the potential public health impact of delivering Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance, a proven fall prevention program, through local community dissemination partners (e.g., senior service providers), in the selected counties in the state of Oregon.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Older Adults at Risk of Falling
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Tai Ji Quan

Detailed Description

The program, Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance, developed by ORI scientists (2003; 2004; 2008, a,b) was implemented in this dissemination project. Class duration was 90 minutes, 2-times per week over a 12-month period. During the initial 2 weeks, practice involved learning and performing 2 forms practiced in one set of 8 repetitions (for each form) and increased to a set of 10 repetitions for up to 5 forms between Week 3 and Week 5. Although additional forms were learned as the intervention progressed, starting in Week 6, training focused on 10-12 repetitions of the combination of forms rather than single forms. Once all 8 forms were learned ( Week 10), training was maintained at between 10-15 repetitions of the 8-form routine. Exercise activities were accompanied by music. Each Tai Chi practice session included (a) a 10-15 minute warm-up, (b) 60 minutes of Tai Chi practice, and (c) a 10-minute cool-down period. Instruction comprised (a) learning new movements and (b) reviewing movements learned from previous sessions. In addition, copies of the videotape/DVD and user's guidebook were distributed to all participants who were encouraged to use these materials for additional home practice.

All participating individuals were assessed at baseline, 6 months (mid-point), 12 months (intervention termination), and 6 months following the intervention (post-intervention follow-up) on measures of health, fall history, functional ability, and quality-of-life. Each evaluation session lasted about one hour and was conducted by a trained research assessor in various centers where these classes were held.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 511
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Oregon
    • Eugene, Oregon, United States, 97403
      • Oregon Research Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years and older (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

(a) 65 years of age or over, (b) physically mobile (i.e., can walk one or two blocks with or without an assistive device), and (c) medical clearance by a healthcare provider.

Exclusion Criteria:

(a) severe cognitive deficits defined by Mini-Mental State Evaluation, and (b) unable to commit for the 12 month duration of the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Other: Tai Ji Quan; Single aim intervention - 2 twice per week for 48 weeks	Behavioral: Tai Ji Quan; single aim intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
adoption - defined as community centers that agree to participate (from the total number of centers approached within the dissemination geographic area)	Target senior centers will be contacted to determine the willingness to adopt the program.	at the study entry

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Reach - defined by the total number of older adults agreed to participate	This indicator will be determined at the study on-set by documenting number of individuals who express interest in participating and are eventually enrolled in the program.	study on-set

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
implementation, effectiveness, maintenance	Assessment of implementation includes fidelity evaluation (compliance rate, completion of required teaching and practice protocol). Effectiveness will be evaluated using falls calendar, physical performance based measures including Functional Reach, Timed Up&Go, 50 foot walk for speed. Maintenance will be evaluated by measuring continued participation among participants (individual level) and participating centers' (center level) willingness to continue the program.	12 months evaluation on program implementation and effectiveness, and a follow-up at month 18 on program maintenance

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oregon Research Institute

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Li F, Harmer P, Fitzgerald K. Implementing an Evidence-Based Fall Prevention Intervention in Community Senior Centers. Am J Public Health. 2016 Nov;106(11):2026-2031. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303386. Epub 2016 Sep 15.
• Li F, Harmer P. Protocol for disseminating an evidence-based fall prevention program in community senior centers: evaluation of translatability and public health impact via a single group pre-post study. Implement Sci. 2014 May 26;9:63. doi: 10.1186/1748-5908-9-63.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: May 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): September 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 9, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 15, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): May 16, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 2, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 29, 2017
• Last Verified: November 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: fall prevention; Tai Ji Quan; community dissemination
• Other Study ID Numbers: AG034956-02