Development of A Web-Based Application To Support A Pain Management Intervention For Older Adults

Information technologies support personalized strategies to promote the ef-fectiveness of pain management interventions. This study reports on the de-velopment of a digital pain management intervention that encompasses edu-cation, exercise, and functional objectives for community-dwelling older adults with chronic musculoskeletal pain, supported by a web-based applica-tion. The Medical Research Council framework, which guides the develop-ment and evaluation of complex interventions, informed its development. According to this framework, the development of a complex intervention has 4 main phases. The first is the development of the intervention, which is subdivided into 10 steps. This manuscript describes the methods and results of these steps: i) plan the development process, ii) involve stakeholders, iii) bring together a team and establish decision-making processes, iv) review published research evidence, v) draw on existing theories, vi) articulate pro-gramme theory, vii) undertake primary data, viii) understand context, ix) at-tend to future implementation, and x) design and refine the intervention. The developed intervention and respective web-based application integrate the inherent complexity of multimodal pain management interventions as recommended by international guidelines.