EFFECTS OF TAI CHAI EXERCISE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH ON SENIOR CITIZENS

Background; Stress is one of the core psychological health issues that affects a significant percentage (10-55%) of the senior population worldwide, with mental problems accounting for 15% of the old age population. Tai chi, moreover recognized as Tai Chi-chuan, is an ancient Chinese form of meditation that is practiced as a set of exercises. Aim: To assess the efficiency of Tai Chi exercise on stress amongst elderly persons at selected senior citizen homes. Pre-experimental one-group pretest and posttest research design with quantitative approach was utilized. Samples were selected based on sample selection criteria. There were 30 samples selected with the purposive sampling technique. The tool used for data collection was the Modified Perceived Stress Scale to assess the level of stress among the elderly after obtained informed consent. The Tai Chi exercise was given for 15-20 minutes for a one-week duration, and on the 7th day, posttest data was collected from the elderly persons with the same tool. Modified Perceived Stress Scale was utilized to monitor the stress. The findings indicated that the pretest level of stress for the majority of elderly persons, 28 (93.3%), had medium stress, and 2 (6.66%) had severe stress levels, and in the posttest level of stress, it shows that the majority, 25 (83.3%), of elderly had moderate stress and 5 (16.6%) had mild stress. The pretest level of stress mean score was 21.43 with the standard deviation of 2.95, and in the posttest, the mean score was 15.86 with the standard deviation of 2.42. The paired’ t-test value of t = 0.78 shows a statistically significant difference between pretest and posttest values (p < 0.05 level). Which proved that Tai Chi exercise was in effect to   reducing the stress level among elderly persons. Conclusion: The study determined that exercises of Tai Chi remained an innovative therapeutic approach and also very effective, technique in establishing, maintaining, and promoting a good sense of psychological well-being among elderly people. Posttest values (p < 0.05 level). Which proved that Tai Chi exercise was effective in reducing the   level of stress among aging persons.