The Effects of Qi-gong Exercise on the Health of the Elderly - With Respect to the Physical Health Status, the Fear of Falling, Balance Efficacy, and Hwa-Byung -

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the effects of the Qi-gong Exercise program on the physical health status, the fear of falling, balance efficacy, and Hwa-Byung in the elderly. Methods: A non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used in 52 elderly subjects who were assigned to the experimental group and the control group (26 subjects in each group). Study out-comes were measured by structured questionnaires from July 2015 to October 2015. For data analysis, the Chi-square test, the Fisher's exact probability test, the Mann-Whitney U test, the paired t-test, and the Wilcoxon signed rank test were performed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: There were significant differences in the physical health status (Z=12.000, p<.001), balance efficacy (Z=60.500, p=<.001), and Hwa-Byung (Z=20.500, p=<.001) between the two groups in pretest and posttest. Conclusions: The findings confirmed that the Qi-gong Exercise program is effective in improving the physical health status, balance efficacy, and Hwa-Byung in the elderly subjects in the community. It can be recommended as a public health program for the elderly population in the community.