JMIR Research Protocols

Oral disease remains a global public health concern, disproportionately affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Adults with disabilities or health conditions face additional barriers to dental care, including physical accessibility, communication challenges, and heightened anxiety. These factors contribute to care avoidance and poorer oral health outcomes. While virtual reality (VR) has shown promise in reducing procedural anxiety in pediatric and private dental settings, its application in adult public dentistry, particularly for people with disabilities, remains underexplored.

In the United States, Asian American people represent the fastest growing population group, and are highly diverse linguistically, culturally, and demographically. Yet, in most national studies, Asian American groups are aggregated, masking potential health disparities. Racial and ethnic minorities, especially first-generation immigrants, are also at a particularly elevated risk of cognitive impairment.

African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) communities in high-income countries continue to experience persistent health inequities, driven by systemic anti-Black racism, socioeconomic disadvantage, and exclusion from health decision-making. Historically, data have been extracted from ACB communities without transparency, accountability, or community ownership. These inequitable practices have produced data systems that reinforce harm rather than promote equity. Equitable data governance, which promotes community ownership over data collection, access, and use, is increasingly recognized as a critical but underresearched determinant of health equity.

Assam, India, exhibits the highest maternal mortality ratio in the nation (195 per 100,000 live births, nearly twice the national average), primarily due to ongoing deficiencies in access to and quality of maternal health (MH) care. Many women receive suboptimal antenatal (ANC) and postnatal care (PNC), challenges exacerbated by geographic isolation, socio-economic constraints, and limited healthcare infrastructure. Digital health innovations, notably mobile health (mHealth) interventions such as messaging platforms and chatbots, have demonstrated potential in enhancing ANC attendance and promoting facility-based deliveries in resource-constrained environments. To address these persistent challenges, the e-SAATHI (Strengthening ANC/PNC via AskNivi Tailored Health Information, Referrals, and Follow-up) project was developed to deliver personalized, stage-specific MH support using a chat-based decision system in Assam.

The transition from university-based simulation learning to the clinical environment is a pivotal stage in undergraduate nursing education. This period can influence students’ psychological well-being, adaptability, and sense of belonging within the clinical setting, which are essential dimensions to professional learning and patient safety. Although the simulation aims to prepare students for clinical realities, the extent to which it supports their emotional and social readiness for real practice remains unclear.

Dementia is one of Canada’s most pressing public health challenges, with rates expected to surge in response to the country’s aging population. Given the rapidly growing issue of dementia, understanding national research efforts are critical to prioritizing and advancing strategic directions in brain health and dementia research. Recently, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) awarded a one-year funding grant from the Brain Health and Cognitive Impairment in Aging (BHCIA) research initiative to map the scope of brain health and dementia in Canada.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as parabens, are commonly found in personal care products (PCPs). Exposure to parabens is linked to several significant health risks, such as reproductive disorders, breast cancer, infertility, and hormone imbalances. Women are particularly vulnerable to these effects due to their higher use of personal care products containing parabens. Despite these risks, Canada lacks regulatory frameworks for the use of parabens in PCPs, relying instead on consumer awareness for reducing exposure. Previous studies have highlighted that many women remain unaware of parabens, exhibiting low risk perception and limited knowledge, which restricts behaviour change towards safer choices.

Hispanics/Latinos (H/L) represent 14.6% of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cases in the United States and experience significant disparities in access to rheumatologic care, disease management, and health outcomes. Mobile health (mHealth) apps are promising tools to improve patient–provider communication and self-management among populations with language and literacy barriers. However, few RA-focused digital health interventions (DHIs) have been culturally adapted for Spanish-speaking H/L individuals.

Myopia has emerged as a major threat to the visual health of adolescents worldwide. Early intervention can effectively slow down the progression of myopia in adolescents. Tuina, a significant therapeutic method in traditional Chinese medicine, has shown promising clinical efficacy in delaying the progression of myopia; however, it lacks robust, large-scale, and standardized randomized controlled trials.

Pediatric patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) require kidney transplants (KT) throughout their lifetime. Long-term graft survival is dependent on multiple factors, which are broadly categorized as donor and recipient-related factors. Advances in transplant care and changes in donor population demographics necessitate an updated analysis on donor risk factors to guide clinical decision-making.

Cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity (CIN) is a major dose-limiting adverse event that can lead to both acute and chronic kidney injury. The formation of thiol-cisplatin conjugates within renal tubular cells has been implicated as a key mechanism underlying CIN. Flopropione is an inhibitor of cysteine conjugate β-lyase 1, an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the thiol-cisplatin conjugate, which might prevent CIN.

Psychological distress, particularly symptoms of depression and anxiety (D&A), is highly prevalent among family caregivers of individuals living with cancer, who often assume central roles in care coordination, treatment adherence, symptom monitoring, and emotional support. Rates of distress among caregivers frequently equal or exceed those observed in patients themselves. Despite increased attention to caregivers’ mental health needs, routine distress screening remains limited in oncology care settings. Advances in mobile health technology and artificial intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to address these needs by providing accessible and user-driven tools. The Ellipsis Caregiver Assessment Enhancement (eCARE; Ellipsis Health, Inc) is a speech-based, AI-enabled mobile app designed to screen and monitor symptoms of depression and anxiety. By collecting brief voice recordings and in-app survey data, eCARE offers a scalable approach for integrating caregiver distress monitoring into cancer care.