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

Half of those living with HIV in the United States are over 50 years of age. As people living with HIV (PWH) live longer with the disease, the tradeoff is that they live with multiple comorbidities. One of the more common comorbidities is depression. There is a need to find innovative and accessible nonpharmacological interventions that can help older people living with HIV/AIDS to manage depressive symptoms that may also affect their treatment outcomes. Tai chi/Qigong (TCQ) is a series of slow, low-impact meditative movements that integrate breath work, meditation, and stances; and may improve depressive symptoms. Investigators propose testing the efficacy of a remotely delivered standardized TCQ intervention that has shown to be acceptable and feasible with a population of older people living with HIV/AIDS. Thus, this study proposes three aims: (i) to determine whether a remotely delivered TCQ intervention is directly efficacious in improving depressive symptoms compared to a health education control group among older PWH (50 years of age or older); (ii) to determine whether a remotely delivered TCQ intervention indirectly improves depressive symptoms via biological, psychological, and behavioral mechanisms compared to a health education control group among older PWH and (iii) to determine whether the direct and indirect associations between a TCQ intervention and depressive symptoms is moderated by gender among older PWH. Participants (n=326) will be recruited using social media sites (e.g., WebMD, google, Facebook) throughout the United States. All assessments will be conducted via Zoom videoconferencing or phone. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 2 conditions: the TCQ intervention, or a health education control group condition. Both the TCQ and the health education control condition will be delivered via Zoom to participants in the form of live, synchronous classes. Investigators will assess the efficacy of TCQ by looking at instruments that measure depression; and potential mechanisms such as sleep, fatigue, emotional regulation, and heart variability at baseline, 3-month, and 9-month post-intervention. Blood will also be collected at baseline and at 9-month to collect viral load and an inflammatory marker (C-reactive protein). Data will be described using descriptive techniques.

Inclusion criteria

In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:

• The ability to provide consent assessed by the GAIN Cognitive Impairment Scale
• Provision of signed and dated informed consent form
• Must be 50 - 75 years old.
• Must have been diagnosed with HIV by a healthcare professional (status confirmed at baseline by an uploaded picture of a recent lab report or medication bottle with name),
• Must have reliable internet access,
• Must have a smart phone
• No substantial experience (regular weekly practice for more than 3 months in the past 12 months) with mind-body interventions,
• Willing to participate for the length of the 12-week intervention and follow up assessments (a total of 12 months).
• Must report stable housing for the past 60 days and the next 60 days;
• Must have mild to moderate depressive symptoms (a score more than 5 but less than 19 on the PHQ-9 scale)
• Must speak and understand English

Exclusion criteria

An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:

• Reports high risk for suicide based on the CCSR screening tool.
• Has participated in a study on mental health in the last 12 months.
• Currently exercising at least 150 minutes a week