Developing a Taijiquan exercise pattern for Chinese older adults: a qualitative study based on the exercise...

Taijiquan is widely practiced by older adults and has been associated with benefits for physical health, psychological wellbeing, balance, cognition, and quality of life. However, the long-term maintenance of Taijiquan exercise remains a challenge, and some older adults discontinue participation during the early stages of practice. Exercise commitment provides a useful psychological framework for understanding continued participation in exercise. However, few studies have systematically developed an intervention framework for strengthening Taijiquan exercise commitment among older adults.

This study aimed to develop a Taijiquan Exercise Pattern for Chinese Elderly (TEP-CE) based on the Taijiquan Exercise Commitment Scale for Chinese Elderly (TECS-CE) and the Exercise Commitment Model.

A qualitative research design was employed. Sixteen participants from Jiaozuo City, China, were purposively selected and divided into four groups: Taijiquan administrators, Taijiquan instructors, researchers, and elderly Taijiquan practitioners, with four participants in each group. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted. The interview guide was developed based on the eight-factor TECS-CE framework and was reviewed for content validity by five experts using the Index of Item-Objective Congruence. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed using NVivo 12.0 through open, axial, and selective coding. The analysis identified 80 free nodes and generated core recommendations for the development of the TEP-CE.

The qualitative analysis identified five major components of the TEP-CE: (1) Taijiquan exercise intervention content; (2) audio and self-language intervention for exercisers; (3) leader-to-participant intervention; (4) peer intervention and mutual support among participants; and (5) exercise monitoring and recording. The framework was designed to address the eight factors of the TECS-CE, including want-to commitment, have-to commitment, satisfaction, social constraints, involvement alternatives, personal investment, social support, and involvement opportunities.

The TEP-CE provides a structured, theoretically informed framework for strengthening exercise commitment and supporting sustained Taijiquan participation among Chinese older adults. The framework may provide practical guidance for Taijiquan instructors, community organizations, researchers, and policymakers. Future research should develop, implement, and empirically evaluate a complete intervention program based on the proposed framework.