A Play Activities Program (PAP) for nursing homes residents with chronic pain

Participants in the experimental group nursing homes will receive the 8-week Physical Activities Program (PAP). The PAP is a protocol-driven intervention which consists of one session per week for a total of 8 weeks. It is conducted in a group format. Participants are encouraged to sit together in small groups of 5 to 6 for group activities in every session so as to create social bonding. Each session lasts for 60 minutes. At the beginning of each session, participants will complete 10 minutes of physical exercises including towel dancing; correct body posture and alignment; stretching of arms, legs, and body muscles performed together under the supervision of the research team. Then, different play activities will be carried out each week. They include drawing, making artwork, throwing a parachute together, and other games playing in group. To ensure the adherence and compliance to protocol, regular meetings will be held among the research team and nursing home staff; also, we shall carefully recruit, thoroughly train, provide ongoing and onsite supervision of research personnel. The nursing home staff training manual, the PAP protocol, the ‘My Play Activities’ portfolio, and materials for play activities of each session has been prepared.