Background: Culturally tailored group exercise bridges health disparities among new immigrants, particularly older adults. We designed a Chinese Qigong (Baduanjin) exercise intervention testing the feasibility and acceptability among older Chinese at a senior daycare center in Philadelphia, PA, US.
Methods: 10-week Qigong group in-person exercise was delivered 5 days a week, using a 12-minute video tutorial under trained research assistants' guidance. Daily attendance and attrition was recorded. Participants completed baseline self-report assessments on physical and mental health, and two computerized cognitive tests, the psychomotor vigilance test and a memory test.
Results: 53 older adults participated (mean age: 78, female: 88.7%). Average daily attendance was 65.28%. Stratification analysis on age groups <80 and ≥80 shows no significant differences on key variables.
Conclusions: Recruitment for Baduanjin Qigong exercise was feasible in senior daycare centers, and older adults could easily learn and safely follow exercise movements. Preliminarily findings call for further research.
Keywords: Baduanjin; Behavior; Chinese older adults; Cognition; Culturally-tailored qigong; Group exercise; Sleep.
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