The effectiveness, acceptability, and sustainability of non-pharmacological interventions for chronic pain management in older adults in mainland China: A systematic review

•This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness, acceptability, and sustainability of non-pharmacological pain management interventions for older adults in mainland china.•This review was conducted in accordance with the standardized guideline and framework (e.g., PRISMA and PICOS) and via a quality assessment tool for the systematic review.•A total of 26 articles were included to analysis the overall changes in pain intensity.•Non-pharmacological interventions involving psychotherapy, acupuncture, exercise, massage, neurotherapy, and multidisciplinary interventions proved effective in alleviating pain intensity among older adults in mainland china. This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness, acceptability, and sustainability of non-pharmacological pain management interventions for older adults in mainland China. Articles searching was conducted across six databases, including MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and WanFangdata. Quality appraisal was performed using the revised Cochrane risk of bias tool. A total of 26 articles met the inclusion criteria, involving 2,197 participants with a mean age of 69.19 years. The participants' ages ranged from 63.85 to 81.75 years. The evaluated non-pharmacological interventions included psychotherapy, acupuncture, exercise, massage, neurotherapy, and multidisciplinary interventions. The overall changes in pain intensity varied from -5.19 to -0.65 on a numeric rating scale ranging from zero to ten. Non-pharmacological interventions proved effective in alleviating pain intensity among older adults in mainland China. The findings suggest that mindfulness, exercise and pain education can be promoted as viable strategies for enhancing the well-being of the elderly population.