The West Philadelphia Senior Community Center (WPSCC) has been awarded a $13,500 grant by the University of Pennsylvania’s Community Collaboration for Co-Creation (Penn4C). The funding will support an innovative project designed to enhance the well-being of older adults with disabilities through an AI-driven virtual platform. This platform will lead community members through a series of Qigong finger exercises, then track their progress and health benefits.
A collaborative effort for health and wellness
The project is a collaboration between Penn Nursing and Engineering schools and the WPSCC community. Its goal is to enhance the overall health of older adults with disabilities and make the exercises engaging, accessible, and sustainable.
“This project strengthens the partnership between Philadelphia communities, Penn Nursing, and Penn Engineering,” says Rose Richardson, Executive Director of WPSCC. “And by encouraging both the finger exercises and social interaction, we hope to reduce feelings of loneliness that older adults with disabilities often experience.”
A time-honored Chinese practice comes to WPSCC
Finger excise is rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It uses meridian and acupoint stimulation and combines finger/hand movements with breathing and meditation. Under the leadership of Professor of Nursing, Jianghong Liu, PhD, RN, FAAN; Professor of Computer and Information Science, Jianbo Shi, PhD; and Rose Richardson, the project will make these exercises available to the community.
“The exercises include simple hand movements, massage, and specific acupoint pressure to activate qi (or energy) flow that may improve their overall health,” says Dr. Liu. “Because it is easy to learn and safe to practice, we hope to help people with disabilities, especially older adults with limited mobility, do these exercise at home.”
How the program works
The initiative will be implemented in phases in 2025. First, engineering students will build, then test the platform’s usability. Once this is completed, members of the WPSCC community will be recruited, undergo a simple health assessment, then be shown how to work with the platform. Participants will receive a modest stipend to attend 20-minute exercise sessions three times a week, then have their health outcomes and overall satisfaction measured at the end of six weeks.
A community ready to embrace Qigong
WPSCC’s Health and Wellness Coach, Patrice Rhodes, is eager to begin. “I’m excited for Qigong,” she says. “Our seniors love the slow, intentional movements of Tai Chi, so they’ll be very open to learning something new. It really is a wonderful opportunity, especially for older adults with mobility issues.”
