The Development of a Gamified Web-based Pain Management Program (GAP) for Community-dwelling Older Adults With Chronic Pain

Pain Management in Older Adults: Pain significantly impacts the well-being of older adults, often leading to diminished physical abilities and a reduced quality of life. Despite this, pain management remains suboptimal, with concerns about medication side effects and a tendency to view pain as a natural aspect of aging. Consequently, many seniors are hesitant to use painkillers. As an alternative, non-pharmacological strategies such as educational programs, physical activity, massage, relaxation techniques, and music therapy are gaining traction.

Innovative Non-Drug Solutions: To improve participation in non-medication pain relief methods, we suggest incorporating gaming elements into these programs (GAP). Originating in digital media in 2008, gamification has since spread across various industries. It involves adding game-like elements to activities to boost engagement, experience, and motivation.

Project Goals: The aims of this initiative include creating a web-based Gamified Pain Management Program (GAP), engaging older adults with chronic pain in the development of GAP, and gathering their feedback on the program's effectiveness.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Chronic Pain Syndrome
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Gamified web-based pain management Program

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 4
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Mimi Mun Yee Tse, PhD.; Phone Number: 39708764; Email: mmytse@hkmu.edu.hk

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • Recruiting
    • Hong Kong Metropolitan University
    • Contact: Mimi Mun Yee Tse, PhD.; Phone Number: (852)39708764; Email: mmytse@hkmu.edu.hk
    • Principal Investigator: Mimi Mun Yee Mimi Mun Yee, PhD.
    • Sub-Investigator: Tyrone Tai On Kwok, PhD.
    • Sub-Investigator: Timothy Chung Ming Wu, Master

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 60 or above
• Can understand Cantonese
• Scored >6 in the Abbreviated Mental Test; a cut-off point of 6 is valid for differentiating between normal and abnormal cognitive functions in geriatric clients
• Have a history of non-cancer pain in the past 6 months
• Have a pain score of at least 2 on the Numeric Rating Scale
• Able to take part in light exercise and stretching
• Owns a smartphone and can access the Internet

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have severe visual and/or auditory deficits that affect that seeing and hearing
• Have a serious organic disease or malignant tumor
• Have a mental disorder diagnosed by neurologists or psychiatrists
• Had a surgical treatment in the past two months
• Experienced drug addiction

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: GAP group; Participants will be invited in the process of developing the GAP, the pain education materials, exercise videos, gameing elements and activities. Each stages of development of the GAP will be jointly monitored by the research team and the participants, feedback and comments will be constantly seek via biweekly meeting.

Other: Gamified web-based pain management Program; Gamified Program Development: The project aims to create a Gamified web-based pain management Program (GAP) tailored for older adults with chronic pain, enhancing engagement through gaming elements. Inclusive Design Process: Older adults with chronic pain will actively participate in developing GAP, providing valuable feedback throughout the process. Pilot Study Design: A pre and post study design will be employed, with a small pilot group of 4 participants to offer diverse perspectives in the program's development. Educational Content & Activities: GAP will feature interactive educational content on pain effects, medication, non-drug treatments, and exercises, delivered through a mobile-friendly web platform.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain Relief	Conducting pre- and post-test of Brief Pain Inventory Scale Title: Brief Pain Inventory Minimum Value: 0 Maximum Value: 10 Interpretation: Higher scores indicate worse pain outcomes.	4-week

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 30, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 23, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 23, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): April 29, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 2, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 30, 2024
• Last Verified: September 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Chronic Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: GAP (Other Identifier: Baylor)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No