JMIR Research Protocols

Approximately 60% of patients with advanced cancer experience the distress of cancer-related fatigue (CRF), which significantly worsens their daily function and quality of life. Baduanjin has been regarded as a promising nonpharmacological intervention for alleviating CRF, anxiety, and depression and improving quality of life. Owing to varying degrees of CRF in patients with advanced cancer, patients may have insufficient endurance, making it difficult to implement standing Baduanjin. However, relevant evidence on sitting Baduanjin for CRF in patients with advanced cancer is lacking.

Increased life expectancy is associated with increasing multimorbidity and polypharmacy, leading to a heightened risk of drug-drug interactions and adverse events, especially when multiple health care providers are involved. To address the urgent need for safer medication management in this population, tools such as medication plans (MP), electronic prescriptions (e-prescriptions), and clinical decision support systems (CDSS) offer valuable support. These instruments have the potential to enhance medication safety by providing physicians and pharmacists with a comprehensive overview of a patient’s overall medication regimen and by assisting health care professionals in making informed prescribing decisions.

Long-term intravitreal anti–vascular endothelial growth factor therapy is the gold standard for treating diabetic macular edema (DME). However, poor treatment adherence in real-world settings often leads to suboptimal visual outcomes. Evidence-based remote management strategies are required to bridge the gap between clinical protocols and patient self-management.

Approximately 1 in 5 children and adolescents live with chronic pain, with musculoskeletal (MSK) pain being one of the most prevalent subtypes. Unfortunately, some studies show that less than half of youth (<18 years) experience improvements with existing evidence-based treatments. Self-report measures—the current gold standard for monitoring the pain experience—are limited in their use as a single point-of-care assessment and their vulnerability to recall bias. The ubiquitous adoption of wearable technology presents a promising solution for improved monitoring of the pain experience via real-time tracking through a multisystemic lens.

India is set to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) from the country by 2025, 5 years ahead of the global target. Optimizing TB care pathways is challenged by the predominance of private sector care-seeking among symptomatic patients (60%-70%), a setting associated with significant under-notification. To improve the notification of TB among private providers and improve patient management in the private sector, the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), India, has implemented the Patient-Provider Support Agency (PPSA). The PPSA model enables state and district TB units to engage third-party agencies to involve private providers in TB care, providing comprehensive services including diagnosis, notification, and treatment support.

Breathlessness is a distressing symptom for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), impacting independence and community participation, resulting in reduced quality of life. With optimized treatment, nonpharmaceutical interventions deployed in a home-based breathlessness intervention service may reduce breathlessness to a manageable level.

Family caregiving for individuals with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) is characterized by increasing complexity, intensity, and demand across the disease trajectory. Formal home- and community-based services can provide knowledge, skills, and resources to enhance preparedness and self-efficacy, which may protect against adverse caregiving outcomes; however, awareness and uptake of these services remain low. As caregivers increasingly turn to the internet for information and support in their role, technology offers an opportunity to create a more seamless pipeline between assessment and service referral to match family caregivers with targeted services that meet their specific needs.

Retention of specialists is critical for sustaining health system performance. In Malaysia, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has implemented multiple workforce retention strategies (WRSs) to enhance job satisfaction and reduce turnover among specialists. However, evidence on specialists’ awareness, participation, and perceived effectiveness of these strategies remains limited. To address this gap, we plan to administer a standardized survey among specialists in MOH health care facilities to guide evidence-based strategic planning toward specialist retention.

As the global population continues to age, the prevalence of geriatric conditions, including dementia and frailty, is also increasing. Early identification of individuals at an elevated risk of these conditions, such as those presenting with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or prefrailty, can provide a critical window for prompt intervention aimed at preventing or reversing disease progression. To promote such early identification, there is a burgeoning interest in the use of digital sensor technology and predictive modeling.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) currently has no cure. However, extensive evidence suggests that addressing key risk factors through lifestyle changes can help individuals effectively self-manage their condition. Diabetes self-management primarily involves patients engaging in self-monitoring behaviors and adopting coping strategies to manage their long-term illness. In recent years, health coaching interventions have gained recognition as a valuable approach for providing personalized support, enabling patients to take an active role in managing their health. By fostering behavior change through goal setting, active learning, accountability, and empowerment, health coaching equips patients with the tools to proactively manage their condition over time. This approach is especially important for researchers and policymakers, as it underscores the need for acceptable, engaging, and personalized care interventions that have a lasting positive impact, promoting self-sufficiency and improved quality of life for individuals with T2D.

All around the world, the hairdressing sector constitutes a major occupational group, including about 90% women, most of whom are of reproductive age. Hairdressers are continuously exposed to numerous chemicals used in hair products, including endocrine-disrupting compounds such as resorcinol, parabens, phthalates, and UV filters. Few biomonitoring studies have explored occupational exposure to endocrine disruptors in hairdressers, and no data were found on their impact on the thyroid hormone system. Resorcinol is an oxidative hair dye with thyroid-disrupting properties that decrease thyroid hormone synthesis and could alter neurodevelopmental functions during fetal and perinatal stages in case of maternal exposure.

Systemic therapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, has improved survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, its efficacy remains limited in patients with macroscopic vascular invasion (MVI), a subgroup with an extremely poor prognosis. Although combining immunotherapy with local treatments such as hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) and radiation therapy (RT) is considered a promising approach, robust supportive evidence from routine clinical practice is lacking.