Table 3 Description of intervention and control procedures
Study | Rawson et al. [28] | Dolezal et al. [27] | Zhu et al. [29] |
|---|---|---|---|
Exercise group | |||
Type of intervention | Warm-up, aerobic activity on a treadmill, resistance training with weightlifting, and cool-down with stretching | Endurance training: 1. Walked and/or jogged on a treadmill Resistance training for all major upper- and lower limb muscle groups: 2. Circuit-type weight training with selected machines 3. Dumbbell training | Tai Chi movements: Ye Ma Fen Zong (“part wild horse’s mane”), Dao Juan Gong (arm curls), Shou Hui Pi Pa (“play the flute”), Nan Que Wei (“grasping the peacock’s tail”), Yun Shou (“wave hands like clouds”), Jing Ji Du Li (“golden rooster stands on one leg”) and Dan Bian (“single whip”) |
Frequency and duration | Fifty-five minutes in total: 5-min warm-up, 30 min aerobic activity, 15 min weight training and 5 min cool-down Exercises were scheduled 3 days per week for 8 weeks | One-hour sessions: 30 min of endurance training (walking and/or running) and approximately 30 min of resistance exercises, starting with one set of very light weights (8–15 reps) and progressing to two sets in the final 5 weeks; three times per week for 8 weeks | Total of 50 min: 10 min warm-up, 30 min Tai Chi and 10 min cool down Tai Chi exercise was scheduled five times per week over a period of 12 weeks |
Control group | |||
Type of intervention | CBT: Health education sessions covering various health topics that included stress reduction, health screening, healthy relationships and sexually transmitted diseases | Education attention: Small-group health and wellness education. Material consisted of an integrated multimedia program addressing a variety of health-, wellness-, and lifestyle topics such as healthy eating, dental care, acupressure and cancer screening | Standard care included recreational activities, gesture language exercise (upper limb exercise with background music) and self-studying |
Frequency and duration | Fifty-five-minute sessions, 3 days per week for 8 weeks | Wellness education sessions, presented three times per week, for about 1 h | Total of 50 min: 5 min recreational activities, 5 min gesture language exercise and about 40 min of self-study |