Increasing the availability of Tai Chi to veterans through a training of trainers course.
Author: Tate LM1,2, Brown LM1,2, Lensing SY1,3, Taylor T1, Bopp MM1, Ferrier I1, Sullivan DH1,4
Affiliation:
1Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Central Arkansas Vetrans Healthcare System, Little Rock, Arkansas.
2College of Nursing, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
3Department of Biostatistics, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
4Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Conference/Journal: Nurs Forum.
Date published: 2019 Dec 5
Other:
Special Notes: doi: 10.1111/nuf.12419. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 221
PURPOSE: The purpose of this nurse-led project was to increase the number of interprofessional Tai Chi instructors for veterans through a 5-week (32 hours) training of trainers (ToT) course led by a Tai Chi master trainer.
METHODS: This project was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of using the ToT model to increase the availability of Tai Chi to veterans. To understand how well the ToT course met learners' needs, a two-phase course evaluation was conducted.
RESULTS: Fifteen interprofessional employees enrolled in and completed the course. Most learners were white (67%) females (67%) with a median age of 50 years. All agreed that the training provided the skills, materials, and confidence to lead Tai Chi classes. Most (93%) indicated experiencing positive health benefits from the training and none experienced any negative effects. The 3-month follow-up evaluation indicated that 10 (67%) were teaching veterans in individual or group classes with two others assisting. Twelve instructors taught more than 150 veterans.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, learners evaluated this ToT course positively and indicated their needs were met and felt prepared to teach Tai Chi despite being inexperienced. The course was a success with 80% of new instructors teaching or coteaching Tai Chi to veterans.
Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
KEYWORDS: health education; health promotion; physical activity; process evaluation; veterans
PMID: 31804720 DOI: 10.1111/nuf.12419
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