JMIR Research Protocols

Probation officers and other professionals who work with youth in the legal system often experience high chronic workplace stress, which can contribute over time to elevations in anxiety, depression, and workplace burnout. Emotion dysregulation appears to function as a common mechanism underlying these elevations, and growing evidence suggests it can be improved with mindfulness meditation. Implemented successfully, app-based meditation programs could provide professionals with real-time tools for mitigating the effects of chronic workplace stress.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States, and adults aged 40-60 years with specific health conditions are at particularly elevated risk for developing CVD. Physical activity (PA) is a key cardioprotective behavior and many interventions exist to promote PA in this group. Effective promotion requires accurate assessment of PA behavior; as PA is often estimated by averaging across multiple days, a threat to accurate assessment is measurement reactivity, or an atypical increase in PA behavior at the start of measurement periods that may bias conclusions. Evidence for PA measurement reactivity is equivocal, though concern has resulted in recommendations to add or drop PA measurement days from inclusion, which may introduce undue burden on participants. At present, the extent of PA measurement reactivity and the behaviors most likely to be affected (eg, steps vs minutes of exercise) among those at risk for CVD are unclear, as are participant characteristics such as gender and study expectations (eg, intervention vs observation only) that may contribute to differences in these patterns.

There is an ongoing syndemic of HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the United States, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM). We have increasingly effective and diverse measures of prevention, including various types of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention and doxycycline postexposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) for STI prevention. As options expand, we need to understand how to use a combination of these strategies and other supports for MSM to best curb the syndemic.

Firefighters are at an increased risk of cancer and other health conditions compared with the general population. However, the specific exposures and mechanisms contributing to these risks are not fully understood. This information is critical to formulate and test protective interventions.

Suicidal ideation is increasing among university students. Despite growing demand for services, university counseling centers (UCCs) face limited resources to meet the complex needs of students who are suicidal.

Virtual rehabilitation, or telerehabilitation (TR), has exponentially evolved in the last few years, gaining particular momentum since the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to a new reality of strict restrictions of physical contact necessitating the shift from in-person health services to tele-health visits, TR has seen widespread adoption. In this context, ensuring ethical and equitable TR services is crucial for establishing sustainable TR models for psychology and neuropsychology into health care systems. This requires complete and consistent guidance for clinicians and patients involved.

There has been an unprecedented effort to sequence the SARS-CoV-2 virus and examine its molecular evolution. This has been facilitated by the availability of publicly accessible databases, such as the GISAID (Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data) and GenBank, which collectively hold millions of SARS-CoV-2 sequence records. Genomic epidemiology, however, seeks to go beyond phylogenetic (the study of evolutionary relationships among biological entities) analysis by linking genetic information to patient characteristics and disease outcomes, enabling a comprehensive understanding of transmission dynamics and disease impact. While these repositories include fields reflecting patient-related metadata for a given sequence, the inclusion of these demographic and clinical details is scarce. The current understanding of patient-related metadata in published sequencing studies and its quality remains unexplored.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a noninfectious chronic inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa characterized mainly by itching, sneezing, nasal congestion, and rhinorrhea. It is mediated by immunoglobulin E (IgE). AR is one of the most common allergic diseases globally, affecting 10% to 20% of the population worldwide, with some regions even reaching rates as high as 50%, posing a global health issue. The prevalence of AR has been increasing since the 1960s, with a significant increase in recent years. At present, modern medicine—including desensitization therapy, the use of antiallergic drugs, antihistamines, hormones, and other treatments—can improve symptoms or regulate the immune system. However, both short- and long-term efficacy remain limited, as symptoms often recur after treatment cessation, and long-term drug use is associated with toxicity and side effects.

The evolving global health landscape highlights the importance of travel medicine, making it necessary for health care professionals to understand the epidemiologic profiles among varied traveler populations and keep themselves updated in this rapidly changing field. However, in Italy, travel medicine clinics have significant gaps in resource allocation, staff training, and infrastructure.

In recent years, the prevalence of cardiometabolic disease (CMD) in African American women has risen; the risk also increases with age, in comparison to men. Evidence demonstrates that stressful life events, including experiences of racism and perceived discrimination, contribute substantially to inflammatory diseases, such as CMD. Despite this evidence, few evidence-based interventions are available to assist individuals from minoritized communities in coping with the chronic stress related to their racial or ethnic identity.

Tailored text messaging is a low-cost mobile health intervention approach shown to effectively improve self-care behaviors and clinical outcomes for patients with chronic cardiometabolic conditions. Given the ubiquitous nature of mobile phones, text messages have the potential to reach a large audience. However, automating and disseminating tailored text messages to large populations at low cost presents major logistical challenges that serve as barriers to implementation.

Locomotive syndrome (LS) is a condition in which muscle weakness and reduced motor function due to musculoskeletal disorders cause reduced mobility and physical function. In Japan, musculoskeletal disorders are the most frequent reason for requiring home support or nursing care, and the prevention and amelioration of LS are thus being emphasized. However, it is difficult for older people to make a habit of exercise therapy, which is the mainstay of LS treatment. We investigated whether digital therapy could (1) lead to behavioral change in older people and (2) prevent or improve LS in older people.