JMIR Research Protocols

The increased incidence of breast cancer implies the appearance of frequent symptoms associated with disease and treatments, such as pain. For the management of this issue, auricular therapy has been used in a complementary manner, especially for its safety and analgesic action.

Patients with post–COVID-19 condition (PCC) experience a wide range of complaints (physical, cognitive, and mental), sometimes with high levels of disability in daily activities. Evidence of effective interdisciplinary rehabilitation treatment is lacking. A person-centered, biopsychosocial, interdisciplinary rehabilitation program, adapted to expert opinions and the patient’s needs, was therefore developed.

Learning styles are biological and developmental configurations of personal characteristics that make the same teaching method effective for some and ineffective for others. Studies support a relationship between learning style and career choices in medicine, resulting in learning style patterns being observed in different residency programs, including in general surgery, from medical school to the last stages of training. The methodologies, populations, and contexts of the few studies pertinent to the matter are very different from one another, and a scoping review on this theme will enhance and organize what is already known.

Root canal failure and secondary endodontic infection are frequent clinical scenarios in dentistry. The main microorganisms implicated in root canal therapy failure are persistent Enterococcus faecalis, Candida albicans, and Staphylococcus aureus. To combat the impact of disease resistance, scientists are concentrating on alternative antimicrobial root canal sealers. Nanomaterials are a recent development in endodontic materials that exhibit great antimicrobial properties, making them an ideal material choice for root canal sealers.

Stress related to Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) is common, particularly among those who care for persons with challenging behaviors and personality or mood changes. Mindfulness and self-compassion programs are efficacious for managing stress. The skills of mindfulness and self-compassion, however, must be integrated with behavioral management skills in order to effectively improve caregiver stress.

HIV disproportionately affects sexual minority men (SMM; eg, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) in Lima, Peru; epidemiological data estimate that 32% to 39% of new HIV infections occur among adult cisgender SMM within primary partnerships (ie, male couples). Most HIV prevention-care research in Lima, Peru, has focused on SMM as individuals and not couples. To help address this critical gap in prevention care, we developed Para Ti, Para Mí, Para Nosotros (P3): a couples-based, digital HIV serostatus-neutral intervention (DHI) for adult cisgender SMM couples in Lima, Peru. The P3 DHI is designed to facilitate couples with skill-building, communication, decision-making, and working together to form and adhere to a detailed prevention care plan that aligns with their explicit sexual agreement. The P3 DHI is theoretically informed, self-guided, directed, sequential, and fully automated.

Digital mental health tools, designed to augment traditional mental health treatments, are becoming increasingly important due to a wide range of barriers to accessing mental health care, including a growing shortage of clinicians. Most existing tools use rule-based algorithms, often leading to interactions that feel unnatural compared with human therapists. Large language models (LLMs) offer a solution for the development of more natural, engaging digital tools. In this paper, we detail the development of Socrates 2.0, which was designed to engage users in Socratic dialogue surrounding unrealistic or unhelpful beliefs, a core technique in cognitive behavioral therapies. The multiagent LLM-based tool features an artificial intelligence (AI) therapist, Socrates, which receives automated feedback from an AI supervisor and an AI rater. The combination of multiple agents appeared to help address common LLM issues such as looping, and it improved the overall dialogue experience. Initial user feedback from individuals with lived experiences of mental health problems as well as cognitive behavioral therapists has been positive. Moreover, tests in approximately 500 scenarios showed that Socrates 2.0 engaged in harmful responses in under 1% of cases, with the AI supervisor promptly correcting the dialogue each time. However, formal feasibility studies with potential end users are needed.

The outcome disparities for African American recipients of kidney transplant is a public health issue that has plagued the field of transplant since its inception. Based on national data, African American recipients have nearly twice the risk of graft loss at 5 years after transplant, when compared with White recipients. Evidence demonstrates that medication nonadherence and high tacrolimus variability substantially impact graft outcomes and racial disparities, most notably late (>2 years) after the transplant. Nonadherence is a leading cause of graft loss. Prospective multicenter data demonstrate that one-third of all graft loss are directly attributed to nonadherence. We have spent 10 years of focused research to develop a comprehensive model explaining the predominant risk factors leading to disparities in African American kidney recipients. However, there are still gaps in patient-level data that hinder the deeper understanding of the disparities. Lack of data from the patient often lead to provider biases, which will be addressed with this intervention. Culturally competent, pharmacist-led interventions in medication therapy management will also address therapeutic inertia. Pharmacist interventions will mitigate medication access barriers as well (cost and insurance denials). Thus, this multidimensional intervention addresses patient, provider, and structural factors that drive racial disparities in African American kidney recipients.

Botswana has made significant investments in its health care information infrastructure, including vertical programs for child health and nutrition, HIV care, and tuberculosis. However, effectively integrating the more than 18 systems in place for data collection and reporting has proved to be challenging. The Botswana Health Data Collaborative Roadmap Strategy (2020-24) states that “there exists parallel reporting systems and data is not integrated into the mainstream reports at the national level,” seconded by the Botswana National eLearning strategy (2020), which states that “there is inadequate information flow at all levels, proliferation of systems, reporting tools are not synthesized; hence too many systems are not communicating.”

For more responsive care provision for motor neuron disease and caregivers, a digital system called Telehealth in MND-Care (TiM-C) was created. TiM-C sends regular symptom questionnaires to users; their responses are sent to health care professionals (HCPs). To enable people with motor neuron disease to participate in research studies more easily, a parallel platform was developed from TiM-C, called Telehealth in MND-Research (TiM-R). TiM-R can advertise studies, collect data, and make them available to MND researchers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a pivotal element in health care, leading to significant advancements across various medical domains, including palliative care and hospice services. These services focus on improving the quality of life for patients with life-limiting illnesses, and AI’s ability to process complex datasets can enhance decision-making and personalize care in these sensitive settings. However, incorporating AI into palliative and hospice care requires careful examination to ensure it reflects the multifaceted nature of these settings.

Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) are emerging pollutants of concern with ubiquitous presence in global ecosystems. MNPs pose potential implications for human health; however, the health impacts of MNP exposures are not yet understood. Recent evidence suggests that MNPs can cross the placental barrier, underlying the urgent need to understand their impact on reproductive health and development.