TAI CHI FOR OLDER NURSES: A WORKSITE HEALTH PROMOTION TRIAL

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目和 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 护理工作者社区热切呼吁实施有效且易于复制的干预措施，以改善健康和福祉，降低肌肉骨骼损伤的风险，并减少老年护士劳动力的工作限制。 太极拳已被研究作为一种干预措施，以促进身心健康，并防止福尔斯在老年人（65岁及以上）人口。 太极拳在老年人群中的广泛记录的积极影响促使我们相信太极拳可能是老年护士（40岁以上）在促进身心健康，降低工伤风险和提高工作效率方面的有效干预。 因此，本项目建议在老年护士的随机对照研究中测试每周一次的太极干预。 这项拟议的工作是第一个调查的健康和工作的好处，太极拳运动的老年护士谁是容易受到强烈的工作相关的压力和肌肉骨骼损伤。 本研究的具体目的是检查太极拳运动的有效性相比，没有太极拳运动对健康和福祉，肌肉骨骼损伤的风险，以及40岁及以上的老年护士在医院环境中的工作限制。 年长的护士将被随机分配到两个锻炼方案中的任何一个：1）太极锻炼方案，在此期间，他们将每周参加一次太极课，每周练习太极四次，共15周;或2）前15周不进行太极拳锻炼（对照组），第16 - 30周进行太极拳锻炼（延迟干预组），锻炼方案与第1组相同。 两组的结局指标将在基线、15周和30周时进行测试。 关于干预措施的成本效益，将以计划外综合休假（CTO）和干预前一年、测试期间和干预/控制后的缺勤总小时数来衡量缺勤情况。测试期间的工伤将通过工人赔偿要求、短期残疾报告和自我报告的限制来衡量。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. There is an earnest call from the nursing workforce community for implementing effective and easily replicable interventions to improve health and wellbeing, reduce risks of musculoskeletal injuries, and reduce work limitations of the older nurse workforce. Tai Chi has been studied as an intervention to promote physical and mental health, and to prevent falls in the elderly (65 years and older) population. The widely documented positive effects of Tai Chi in the elderly population encourage us to believe that Tai Chi may be an effective intervention for the older nurses (age 40+) in terms of promoting their mental and physical health, reducing the risks for work-related injuries, and improving their work productivity. Thus, this project proposes to test a weekly Tai Chi intervention in a randomized controlled study with older nurses. This proposed work is among the first to investigate the health and work benefits of Tai Chi exercise among aging nurses who are susceptible to intense work-related stress and musculoskeletal injuries. The specific aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of Tai Chi exercises compared to no Tai Chi exercises on health and wellbeing, risks of musculoskeletal injuries, and work limitations in older nurses aged 40 years and above in a hospital setting. Older nurses will be randomly assigned to either one of the two exercise protocols: 1) the Tai Chi exercise protocol during which they will participate once a week a Tai Chi class, and practice Tai Chi on their own four times a week, for a total of 15 weeks; or 2) no Tai Chi exercises for the first 15 weeks (control) and Tai Chi exercises from weeks 16 to 30 (delayed intervention) with the same exercise protocol as in group 1. Outcome measures for both groups will be tested at baseline, 15 weeks, and 30 weeks. Regarding cost effectiveness of the intervention, work absenteeism will be measured as unscheduled Combined Time Off (CTO) and total hours absent over the year prior to the intervention, then over the test period, and post intervention/control. Work related injury over the test period will be measured by workers compensation claims, short term disability reports, and self-reported limitations.