Researchers studied the effects of Qigong practice among chronically ill patients during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong (Siu et al., 2007). Researchers investigated how the practice influenced the social context of Hong Kong during the outbreak.
A total of 30 participants from three Qigong classes were involved in the study. The researchers observed that both the underlying and trigger motivations helped the chronically ill patients to practice qigong. The underlying motivations included legitimacy of qigong in health maintenance and unpleasant experiences in Western treatment. Trigger motivations included discrimination against the chronically ill and the searching of coping strategy.
The study found that to the participants, qigong improved their health and served as a coping strategy to regain an active control. The practice helped the patients to overcome the social discrimination during the outbreak. The study suggests that Qigong may be a helpful method to support chronic ill patients both physically and psychologically during an epidemic crisis. Further studies will help elucidate the mechanisms of such effects.
Reference:
Siu, J. Y., Sung, H. C., et al. (2007) Qigong practice among chronically ill patients during the SARS outbreak. J Clin Nurs 16, 769-776.
