Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Physical Fitness and Quality of Life in Elderly Women / 재활간호학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the effects of Tai Chi exercise on physical fitness and quality of life (QOL) in elderly women. METHODS: This study was designed as a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group pre-post test design. The subjects were elderly women over 60 years old who enrolled senior citizen centers and elderly welfare center. Thirty-three people were conveniently assigned to an experimental group (n=15) or a control group (n=18). The data were collected from September 2009 to May 2010. The experimental group was trained Tai Chi exercise for 8 weeks (one hour Tai Chi classes twice a week and once a week by themselves at home). Data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test, chi2-test and independent t-test. RESULTS: The experimental group experienced significant improvements in flexibility. The experimental group experienced significant improvements in physical component summary (p=.017) and mental component summary (p=.027) of QOL. CONCLUSION: Tai Chi exercise can be used as a nursing intervention for improvement of physical fitness and QOL in elderly women.