Research examining psychological and physiological benefits of Qigong and Tai Chi is growing rapidly. The many practices described as Qigong or Tai Chi have similar theoretical roots, proposed mechanisms of action, and expected benefits. Research trials and reviews, however, treat them as separate targets of examination. This review examines the evidence for achieving outcomes from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of both. The key words Tai Chi, Taiji, Tai Chi Chuan, and Qigong were entered into electronic search engines for the Cumulative Index for Allied Health and Nursing (CINAHL), psychological literature (PsycINFO), PubMed, Cochrane database, and Google Scholar. STUDY INCLUSION CRITERIA: RCTs reporting on the results of Qigong or Tai Chi interventions and published in peer-reviewed journals from 1993 to 2007. Country, type and duration of activity, number/type of subjects, control conditions, and reported outcomes were recorded for each study. Outcomes related to Qigong and Tai Chi practice were identified and evaluated. Seventy-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. The nine outcome category groupings that emerged were bone density (n = 4), cardiopulmonary effects (n = 19), physical function (n = 16), falls and related risk factors (n = 23), quality of life (n = 17), self-efficacy (n = 8), patient-reported outcomes (n = 13), psychological symptoms (n = 27), and immune function (n = 6). Research has demonstrated consistent, significant results for a number of health benefits in RCTs, evidencing progress toward recognizing the similarity and equivalence of Qigong and Tai Chi.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: College students experience high levels of stress. Mindfulness meditation delivered via a mobile application (app) may be an appealing, efficacious way to reduce stress in college students. Objective: To test the initial efficacy and sustained effects of an 8-week mindfulness meditation mobile-app (i.e., Calm) compared to a wait-list control on stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion in college students with elevated stress. We also explored the intervention’s effect on health behaviors (i.e., sleep disturbance, alcohol consumption (i.e., binge drinking), physical activity, healthy eating (i.e.,fruit and vegetable consumption) and examined the feasibility and acceptability. Methods: This study was a randomized, wait-list control trial with assessments at baseline, post-intervention (8-weeks) and follow-up (12-weeks). Participants were eligible if they were current full-time undergraduate students and 1) at least 18 years of age, 2) scored ≥14 on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), 3) owned a smartphone, 4) willing to download the Calm app, 5) willing to be randomized and 7) able to read and understand English. Participants were asked to meditate using Calm at least 10 minutes per day. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Eighty-eight participants were included in the analysis. The mean age (SD), for the intervention group was 20.41 (2.31) years and 21.85 (6.3) years for the control group. There were significant differences in all outcomes (stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion) between intervention and control groups after adjustment for covariates (all P<0.04) at post-intervention. These effects persisted at follow-up (all P<0.03), except for the non-reacting subscale of mindfuless (p = 0.079). There was a significant interaction between group and time factor in perceived stress (p = 0.002), mindfulness (p<0.001), and self-compassion (p<0.001). Bonferroni post-hoc tests showed significant within-group mean differences for perceived stress in the intervention group (p0.19). Similar results were found for mindfulness and self-compassion. Effect sizes ranged from moderate (0.59) to large (1.24) across all outcomes. A significant group x time interaction in models of sleep disturbance was found but no significant effects were found on other health behaviors. The majority of students in the intervention group reported Calm was helpful to reduce stress and stated they would use Calm in the future. The majority was satisfied with using Calm and likely to recommend Calm to other college students. Participation in meditation for the intervention group averaged 38 minutes/week during the intervention and 20 minutes/week at follow-up. Conclusions: Calm is an effective modality to deliver mindfulness meditation to reduce stress and improve mindfulness and self-compassion in stressed college students. The findings presented here provide important information that can be applied to the design of future studies or mental health resources in university programs. Clinical Trial: clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03891810; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03891810?term=calm+college&rank=1 (archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/77MgrQjDj

Numerous studies have reported that spending time in nature is associated with the improvement of various health outcomes and well-being. This review evaluated the physical and psychological benefits of a specific type of exposure to nature, forest therapy. A literature search was carried out using MEDLINE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, and ProQuest databases and manual searches from inception up to December 2016. Key words: “Forest” or “Shinrin -Yoku” or “Forest bath” AND “Health” or “Wellbeing”. The methodological quality of each randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was assessed according to the Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) tool. Six RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Participants’ ages ranged from 20 to 79 years. Sample size ranged from 18 to 99. Populations studied varied from young healthy university students to elderly people with chronic disease. Studies reported the positive impact of forest therapy on hypertension (n = 2), cardiac and pulmonary function (n = 1), immune function (n = 2), inflammation (n = 3), oxidative stress (n = 1), stress (n = 1), stress hormone (n = 1), anxiety (n = 1), depression (n = 2), and emotional response (n = 3). The quality of all studies included in this review had a high ROB. Forest therapy may play an important role in health promotion and disease prevention. However, the lack of high-quality studies limits the strength of results, rendering the evidence insufficient to establish clinical practice guidelines for its use. More robust RCTs are warranted.

Health promotion interventions designed for specific cultural groups often are designed to address cultural values through culturally adapted messages. Recent trends in health promotion incorporate narrative theory, locating culture within the narratives of cultural members, and suggesting that narrative may provide a central, grounded medium for expressing and shaping health behavior. We suggest that culturally grounded narratives are a natural choice for identifying and shaping health messages for specific audiences. A Model of Culture-Centric Narratives in Health Promotion is proposed based on previous persuasion and health promotion research. This model may be used to guide the development and testing of the narrative characteristics and psychosocial mediators of behavior change in a broad range of health interventions. Implications, boundaries, and limitations of the model are discussed.

Background. Many breast cancer survivors experience fatigue, mood, and sleep disturbances.Purpose. This study aims to compare a meditative movement pr