The Effect of Tai Chi Exercise in Elderly Women

여성노인에 대한 타이치 운동의 효과

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of Tai Chi exercise program on pain, fatigue, depression, self-efficacy, and quality of life in elderly women. Method: A quasi-experimental design, a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest was the method of this study. Elderly women who agreed to participate in the study were conveniently placed into an experimental group (n=33) or an control group (n=34). The experimental group participated in Tai Chi exercise program, which was held for 60 minutes per session and 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Tai Chi exercise program consisted of a 10 minute warm-up, a 45 minute main session, and a 5 minute cooling down. In order to evaluate the effects of Tai Chi exercise program, pain, fatigue, depression, self-efficacy, and quality of life were measured with a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, t- test, and ANCOVA by SPSS WIN 13.0 program. Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group reported higher level of quality of life (F=7.67, p=.007) and self-efficacy (F=20.9, p=.000) and lower level of pain (F=10.93, p= .002), fatigue (F=6.28, p=.015), and depression (F=10.02, p=.002). Conclusions: This study suggests that Tai Chi exercise program may be one of the effective nursing interventions for elderly women.