Social Prescribing Intervention for Health Promotion in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Official title

Social Prescribing for Health Promotion in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Prospective Cohort Study Combining Mindfulness Meditation and Nordic Walking Pole Exercise

Overview

This study evaluates the effects of a social prescribing intervention on health promotion outcomes in community-dwelling older adults. The intervention consists of a 4-week mindfulness meditation program followed by a 12-week walking-pole exercise program. The purpose of the study is to determine whether this combined intervention improves physical function, psychological well-being, and sleep quality. Eligible participants aged 55 years and older will be enrolled from community settings and will receive the same 16-week intervention. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, after the mindfulness phase, after completion of the full intervention, and 3 months after the intervention ends. Study outcomes include physical function, mood, well-being, sleep quality, and indicators of continued participation and lifestyle change. The investigators hypothesize that the combined social prescribing intervention will lead to improvements in physical and psychological health among community-dwelling older adults and support healthy aging.

Detailed description

This study evaluates the effects of a social prescribing intervention on health promotion in community-dwelling older adults. The intervention combines 2 structured components delivered sequentially: a 4-week mindfulness meditation program followed by a 12-week walking-pole exercise program. The study is based on the concept that a combined mind-body and community-based intervention may improve both physical and psychological health and support healthy aging.

The study uses a prospective, single-group repeated-measures design. All enrolled participants receive the same 16-week intervention in community settings. The first phase consists of weekly group-based mindfulness meditation sessions designed to promote breathing awareness, relaxation, body awareness, emotional regulation, and positive psychological well-being. Participants are also encouraged to practice at home with guided audio support. The second phase consists of weekly group-based walking-pole exercise sessions focused on safe physical activity, strength, balance, mobility, and broader health promotion topics relevant to older adults.

The sequential design is intended to first establish psychological readiness and self-regulation and then build on this foundation through structured exercise. The investigators expect that the mindfulness phase may improve relaxation, emotional well-being, sleep, and self-regulation, while the walking-pole phase may improve physical function, lower-extremity strength, balance, and mobility. The study also examines whether participation in this combined program supports continued engagement in health-promoting behaviors.

Assessments are conducted at baseline, after completion of the mindfulness phase, after completion of the full intervention, and 3 months after the intervention ends. This design allows evaluation of short-term effects after the mindfulness phase, overall effects after the full intervention, and maintenance of effects at follow-up.

This study is intended to generate evidence for a feasible community-based social prescribing model for older adults. The findings may help support future development and implementation of integrated community programs that promote physical function, psychological well-being, and healthy aging.

Interventions

• Behavioral Mindfulness Meditation and Walking-Pole Exercise
  1. Mindfulness Meditation A 4-week group-based mindfulness meditation program delivered once weekly for approximately 60 minutes per session. The program includes breathing awareness, body awareness, relaxation training, emotion regulation, and positive psychological practices. Sessions are conducted in person by trained instructors and are supported by guided home practice using audio content. The purpose of this phase is to promote psychological well-being, relaxation, sleep improvement, and s

Primary outcome measures

• Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test [Time frame: Baseline, at Week 5, and at Week 17]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Adults aged 55 years and older
• Community-dwelling older adults
• Able to walk independently or with assistive devices
• Normal cognitive function or mild cognitive impairment, with ability to understand and follow study procedures
• Willing to sign informed consent
• Willing to participate in the intervention and complete study assessments

Exclusion criteria

• Major surgery or hospitalization within the previous 3 months
• Severe cardiovascular disease or other medical condition making exercise inappropriate, based on physician assessment
• Moderate to severe dementia or other severe psychiatric disorder
• Inability to comply with the 4-week mindfulness meditation program or the 12-week walking-pole exercise program

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: Yes

Study design

Allocation

N/A

Model

Single group

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Supportive care

Study locations

Taiwan · 1 center

• National Health Research Institutes — Zhunan

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07540117 · EC1150201

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗