Adoption of a Tai Chi Intervention, Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance, for Fall Prevention by Rural Faith-Based Organizations, 2013–2014

Abstract

BackgroundTranslating evidence-based, community-delivered, fall-prevention exercise programs into new settings is a public health priority.Community ContextOlder adults (aged ≥65 y) are at high risk for falls. We conducted a community engagement project in West Virginia to evaluate the adoption of a tai chi exercise program, Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance, by rural faith-based organizations (FBOs) and exercise instructors by recruiting 20 FBOs and 20 or more exercise instructors and by obtaining input from key stakeholders (representatives of FBOs, community representatives, exercise instructors) regarding potential barriers and facilitators to program adoption.MethodsWe used both multistage, purposeful random sampling and snowball sampling to recruit FBOs and exercise instructors in 7 West Virginia counties. Two forums were held with stakeholders to identify barriers and facilitators to program adoption. We calculated separate adoption rates for organizations and exercise instructors.OutcomeIt took up to 3 months to recruit each FBO with an adoption rate of 94%. We made 289 telephone calls, sent 193 emails and 215 letters, distributed brochures and flyers to 69 FBOs, held 118 meetings, and made 20 trips over a period of 31 days (8,933 miles traveled). Nineteen of 22 trained exercise instructors started classes, an instructor adoption rate of 86%. Key issues regarding adoption were the age requirement for participants, trust, education, and competing priorities.InterpretationAlthough we had recruitment challenges, our adoption rates were similar to or higher than those reported in other studies, and the objectives of the community engagement project were met. Clustering the FBOs and having them located closer geographically to our location may have reduced our resource use, and using a recruitment coordinator from the local community may have enabled us to gain the trust of congregants and clergy support.

Community engagement strategies to promote recruitment and participation in clinical research among rural communities: A narrative review

“…Although it was not included in the original inclusion criteria, partnership with local organizations, which is essential in establishing relationships in rural communities, was mentioned in 29 studies 17,18,22,24,[26][27][28][29]32,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]47,48,[50][51][52]55,56,[59][60][61]64 . The majority of partnerships were formed with faith-based organizations (70%) and/or local health-related facilities (55%).…”

“…Most of these relied on community engagement for successful recruitment of research participants. Involvement of community personnel (n=46) , feedback (n=22) 18,20,23,25,26,31,32,34,38,[42][43][44][45]49,[51][52][53][55][56][57]61,62 , and customization of recruitment materials and processes in accordance with the characteristics of the community (n=17) 19,22,25-https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2023. 16 Published online by Cambridge University Press 27,32,34,45,[47][48][49][50]52,56,58,61,63 were mentioned most frequently.…”

“…Involve. Involvement was identified as the level of engagement in half of the studies (n=24) 17,19,21,22,26,[28][29][30]32,33,36,38,39,45,47,48,[55][56][57][58][59][60][61]63 . In most of these studies, the research teams developed partnerships with local organizations or recruited community personnel and liaisons.…”

“…Numerous outcomes of the recruitment strategies were discussed, most of which were positive. Among all the findings, production of tailored materials and procedures (n = 17) [19,[25][26][27][28]31,34,45,48,51,52,56,[58][59][60]62,64], improved participant recruitment (n = 19) [19,20,22,[25][26][27]34,35,37,41,43,46,52,56,58,59,[61][62][63], building partnership (n = 9) [20,23,27,40,42,49,55,56,61], and increased trust (n = 8) [23,27,35,40,50,…”

Trends and Characteristics of Tai Chi and Qi Gong Use among U.S. Adults: Results from the 2007-2017 NHIS

“…[2] A large and growing body of evidence suggest that practicing TCQ may improve balance and stability in older people and those with Parkinson's Disease, [3] reduce pain from knee osteoarthritis, [4,5] help people cope with bromyalgia and back pain, [6,7] promote functional capacity and quality of life in older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD), [8] and effectively assist treatment and rehabilitation of COVID-19. [9,10] The promising results regarding the feasibility, safety, and e cacy of TCQ have prompted popular media, such as TIME [11] and national organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [12]National Council on Aging, [13] the American Heart Association,[14] the National Parkinson Foundation, [15] and Arthritis Foundation [16] to endorse TCQ as the perfect exercise for healthy aging and to cultivate a healthy lifestyle, especially for midlife and older adults.…”