Implementing an evidence-based Tai Ji Quan program in a multicultural setting: A pilot dissemination project

Falls in older adults are a significant public health issue and a particularly significant health risk in Minnesota. With accumulating research evidence suggesting that falls can be prevented through exercise, there is an increased public health effort among organizations serving older adults to translate and disseminate evidence-based programs into the community. Such efforts, however, face additional challenges if they are implemented in communities with older adults from different cultural backgrounds and languages. This paper briefly describes a pilot community-based dissemination project, including the initiation, implementation, process, and outcomes, of an evidence-based fall prevention (Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance formerly known as Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance) through a local Area Agency on Aging in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota (USA). Overall, the program was successfully implemented resulting in adoption by local community organizations serving Asian and, to a lesser degree, East African non-English speaking older adults. Bilingual community instructors were trained to lead the classes resulting in broad participation and improved physical performance by the older adults targeted for the intervention. The results from this pilot study indicate that Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance can be implemented with positive results in non-English speaking community settings using bilingual leaders.