Tai Chi Training for People with Parkinson's Disease

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): People with Parkinson's disease (PD) are faced with many difficulties, including muscle stiffness, tremors, slowness and poverty of movement, difficulty with balance, difficulty walking, speech problems, and loss of voice. Certain types of physical activity such as walking, swimming, or gardening, are considered important for people with PD in terms of maintaining daily activities and quality of life. However, concerns that people with PD have regarding mobility, balance control, and physical functioning, need to be addressed by specific exercises or movement therapies. Tai Chi, a specific exercise modality shown to be effective in the general population for improving balance, physical functioning, and preventing falls, may also be beneficial for individuals with PD. Since it may not routinely be feasible for people with PD to attend community exercise classes, the need for a suitably adapted instructional resource is warranted. To date, instructional media resources on Tai Chi are not tailored for patients with PD. The overall objective of this Phase I project is to develop a Parkinson's-specific Tai Chi exercise video program. The project aims include the design and development of a Tai Chi program prototype, including a video and users manual. The program package will be pilot tested with a small group of potential users to gauge overall usability effectiveness of content and presentation of the video material. This will be followed by a preliminary evaluation of the program in a sample of patients, with respect to the primary outcome measures of program satisfaction, intention to use, performance efficacy, and frequency of use, and secondary outcome measures of physical performance and attitudes regarding program acceptability and appropriateness. The end product of this project will be a well-designed Tai Chi exercise video program (alpha version) that has potential therapeutic values and is appropriate and acceptable for patients with mild to moderate PD to do at home or in a class setting. If successful, the outcomes of this Phase I project will used as formative evaluation for a proposed Phase II project the goal of which will be to develop a marketable version of the Tai Chi exercise video program, including expanded content and graphics. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to scientifically evaluate the efficacy of the program. The final product in both video and DVD formats will be marketed to people with PD through local support groups, PD organizations, and educational media distributors.