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Qigong and Social Isolation: Mental Health Benefits

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Mental Health Wellness 1
Interventions
Other: Qigong
Registration Number
NCT05081297
Lead Sponsor
Universidade do Porto
Brief Summary

The objective of the study is to understand if Qigong may be useful in controlling the psychological state of participants in relative social isolation (during Covid-19 governmental imposed isolation procedures) The sessions are conducted live by the internet by a professional instructor-therapist with the duration of 2 months and a regular minimum of 2 sessions a week.

Detailed Description

The study's objective is to understand if Qigong may be helpful on the psychological state control of the participants in a relative state of isolation imposed by the government on the fight against Covid-19.

Data is gathered via the Mental Health Inventory (MHI) adapted to the Portuguese population to assess quantitative mental health scores and a simple structured interview to assess qualitative mental health benefits of Chikung (Qigong).

Qigong was the chosen technique to be studied as an intervention. Qigong is a Traditional Chinese Medicine therapeutic tool that has been studied for its several health benefits. As a traditional vegetative biofeedback therapy, Qigong can be useful for the maintenance of mental health of people with several conditions such as anxiety and depression, autism spectrum disorder and even conditions related to behavioral control.

* Group 1 was composed of Qigong practitioners (for at least 3 months).

* Group 2 was composed of participants who would receive the Qigong intervention (never practiced Qigong).

* Group 3 was composed of control participants (who would not receive the intervention).

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
64
Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
  • Physical or mental disabilities or conditions that may aggravate when performing semi-supervised physical activity

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Qigong practitioner groupQigongThis arm is the experimental group where qigong intervention is going to be applied to practitioners with experience
Beginner Qigong practitioner groupQigongThis arm is the experimental group where qigong intervention is going to be applied to practitioners with no experience.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Psychological Well-being (Mental health Inventory (MHI) dimension)T1 - 8 weeks

A higher score means a higher Psychological Well-being (0-100 score)

Psychological Distress (Mental health Inventory (MHI) dimension)T1 - 8 weeks

A higher score means a higher Psychological Distress (0-100 score)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Depression (Mental health Inventory (MHI) dimension)T1 - 8 weeks

A higher score means higher Depression levels (0-100 score)

Positive Affect (Mental health Inventory (MHI) dimension)T1 - 8 weeks

A higher score means a higher Positive Affect (0-100 score)

Loss of emotional or behavioral control (Mental health Inventory (MHI) dimension)T1 - 8 weeks

A higher score means a higher Loss of emotional or behavioral control (0-100 score)

Emotional Ties (Mental health Inventory (MHI) dimension)T1 - 8 weeks

A higher score means higher Emotional Ties (0-100 score)

Anxiety (Mental health Inventory (MHI) dimension)T1 - 8 weeks

A higher score means higher Anxiety levels (0-100 score)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Instituto Português de Taichi e Chikung

🇵🇹

Maia, Porto, Portugal

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