Research Alert

Abstract

Purpose 

The aim of the study was to develop the Healthy Beat Acupunch (HBA) exercise program and evaluate its feasibility for community older adults.

Design 

Stage I: The Delphi technique was used to consult 16 experts to develop the program. Stage II: A preexperimental, one-group, posttest-only design was used to pilot-test the program feasibility with 31 older adults.

Methods 

After 4 weeks of interventions, participants evaluated the program based on four criteria (simplicity, safety, suitability, and helpfulness) and responded to five open-ended questions.

Findings 

The developed HBA program from Stage I includes three phases with 24 motions and takes 40 minutes to complete. Program feasibility in Stage II showed average scores ranged from 8.84 ± 1.32 to 9.97 ± 0.18.

Conclusion 

Both experts and elderly participants confirmed that the HBA program was simple, safe, suitable, and helpful to older adults.

Clinical Relevance 

The HBA program provides older adults with a new set of exercise options.

Journal Link: Rehabilitation Nursing