Social Prescribing Intervention for Health Promotion in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

April 20, 2026 updated by: National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan

Social Prescribing for Health Promotion in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Prospective Cohort Study Combining Mindfulness Meditation and Nordic Walking Pole Exercise

This study evaluates the effects of a social prescribing intervention on health promotion outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. The intervention consists of a 4-week mindfulness meditation program followed by a 12-week walking-pole exercise program. The purpose of the study is to determine whether this combined intervention improves physical function, psychological well-being, and sleep quality.

Eligible participants aged 55 years and older will be enrolled from community settings and will receive the same 16-week intervention. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, after the mindfulness phase, after completion of the full intervention, and 3 months after the intervention ends. Study outcomes include physical function, mood, well-being, sleep quality, and indicators of continued participation and lifestyle change.

The investigators hypothesize that the combined social prescribing intervention will lead to improvements in physical and psychological health among community-dwelling older adults and support healthy aging.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study evaluates the effects of a social prescribing intervention on health promotion in community-dwelling older adults. The intervention combines 2 structured components delivered sequentially: a 4-week mindfulness meditation program followed by a 12-week walking-pole exercise program. The study is based on the concept that a combined mind-body and community-based intervention may improve both physical and psychological health and support healthy aging.

The study uses a prospective, single-group repeated-measures design. All enrolled participants receive the same 16-week intervention in community settings. The first phase consists of weekly group-based mindfulness meditation sessions designed to promote breathing awareness, relaxation, body awareness, emotional regulation, and positive psychological well-being. Participants are also encouraged to practice at home with guided audio support. The second phase consists of weekly group-based walking-pole exercise sessions focused on safe physical activity, strength, balance, mobility, and broader health promotion topics relevant to older adults.

The sequential design is intended to first establish psychological readiness and self-regulation and then build on this foundation through structured exercise. The investigators expect that the mindfulness phase may improve relaxation, emotional well-being, sleep, and self-regulation, while the walking-pole phase may improve physical function, lower-extremity strength, balance, and mobility. The study also examines whether participation in this combined program supports continued engagement in health-promoting behaviors.

Assessments are conducted at baseline, after completion of the mindfulness phase, after completion of the full intervention, and 3 months after the intervention ends. This design allows evaluation of short-term effects after the mindfulness phase, overall effects after the full intervention, and maintenance of effects at follow-up.

This study is intended to generate evidence for a feasible community-based social prescribing model for older adults. The findings may help support future development and implementation of integrated community programs that promote physical function, psychological well-being, and healthy aging.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

1500

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Miaoli
      • Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan, 350
        • Recruiting
        • National Health Research Institutes
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 55 years and older
  • Community-dwelling older adults
  • Able to walk independently or with assistive devices
  • Normal cognitive function or mild cognitive impairment, with ability to understand and follow study procedures
  • Willing to sign informed consent
  • Willing to participate in the intervention and complete study assessments

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Major surgery or hospitalization within the previous 3 months
  • Severe cardiovascular disease or other medical condition making exercise inappropriate, based on physician assessment
  • Moderate to severe dementia or other severe psychiatric disorder
  • Inability to comply with the 4-week mindfulness meditation program or the 12-week walking-pole exercise program

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Mindfulness Meditation Plus Walking-Pole Exercise
Behavioral: Mindfulness Meditation and Walking-Pole Exercise
  1. Mindfulness Meditation A 4-week group-based mindfulness meditation program delivered once weekly for approximately 60 minutes per session. The program includes breathing awareness, body awareness, relaxation training, emotion regulation, and positive psychological practices. Sessions are conducted in person by trained instructors and are supported by guided home practice using audio content. The purpose of this phase is to promote psychological well-being, relaxation, sleep improvement, and self-regulation before the exercise phase begins.
  2. Walking-Pole Exercise A 12-week group-based walking-pole exercise program delivered once weekly for approximately 60 to 90 minutes per session. The program includes warm-up, structured walking-pole exercise, cool-down, and brief calming or meditative practice. It focuses on muscle strengthening, balance training, mobility, functional movement, and health promotion activities relevant to older adults. Sessions are led by qualified instructors,

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test
Time Frame: Baseline, at Week 5, and at Week 17
Time in seconds required to complete the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test, used to assess lower-extremity muscle strength and functional mobility. Lower values indicate better performance.
Baseline, at Week 5, and at Week 17

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 14, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

April 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 23, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 20, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • EC1150201

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared because the study involves community-dwelling older adults and includes sensitive personal and health-related information. To protect participant privacy and comply with institutional review board and data protection requirements, no individual-level de-identified dataset is currently planned for public sharing. Study findings will be reported in aggregate form only.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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