A Remotely Delivered Tai Chi/Qigong Intervention for Older People Living With HIV

Summary

The goal of this randomized clinical trial is to learn if tai chi/qigong decreases depressive symptoms among older people living with HIV compared to a health education class. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does tai chi/qigong reduce depressive symptoms among older people living with HIV more than a health education class? What are the behavioral, psychological, and biological mechanisms in which tai chi/qigong affects depressive symptoms? Does tai chi/qigong affect depressive symptoms among older people living with HIV differently for men compared to women?

Researchers will compare a 12-week, twice a week remotely delivered tai chi/qigong intervention to a health education class of the same duration to determine if it improves depressive symptoms among older people living with HIV.

Participants will:

Attend either a tai chi/qigong class twice a week for 12 weeks or a health education class of the same duration delivered via Zoom. Each class will be 45-60 minutes in length.

Participate in 3 separate interviewer-administered interviews: at the time of enrollment, 3 months after the last class, and 9 months after the last class.

Keep a tracking log of their home practice of tai chi/qigong (only participants in the intervention group).

Use a biosensor (an earlobe sensor or chest strap) to measure their heart variability.

Go to their local lab (e.g., Quest or Labcorp) for blood draw at the time of enrollment and at 9 month post intervention (this will only be a subset of participants).

Conditions

• Depressive Symptoms
• Hiv

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Tai chi/qigong intervention group

The intervention is a tai chi/qigong intervention for older people living with HIV. This behavioral group-based intervention will be delivered through Zoom twice a week for 12 weeks. Each class lasts 45-60 minutes. Tai chi/qigong is a slow low impact meditative movement.

BEHAVIORAL

Health Education group

Participants will be assigned to a health and wellness education group for older people living with HIV. This group will be delivered through Zoom twice a week for 12 weeks, and each class will last 45-60 minutes. Each group will learn about and discuss a health and wellness topic.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

  collaborator NIH

• Arizona State University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Miami

  collaborator OTHER

• New College of Florida

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Florida International University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Gladys E Ibanez, Ph.D. · Florida International University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-08-04

Primary Completion

2029-05-31

Completion

2029-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations