JMIR Research Protocols

Proactive end-of-life (EoL) conversations can help individuals, their significant others, and health care professionals be better prepared to confront dying and future EoL decision-making. Talking about EoL issues may be unfamiliar and difficult; tools are increasingly used to support such conversations. While using digital tools presents many advantages, the development processes of such are seldom robustly reported. The project outlined here has the overall aim of further developing and investigating promotion of early, proactive EoL conversations by cocreating and testing, together with potential community-based end users, a digital version of an existing tool, the DöBra cards.

Population aging poses challenges to health systems and costs, and evidence shows that older adults spend a long time in ill health. Improving healthspan, time spent in good health, allows older adults to contribute and improve in their quality of life. Active and healthy aging are crucial to improving healthspan. Urban care farming (UCF) is a behavioral intervention that is purported to enhance active and healthy aging.

Dementia is a growing public health concern, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. Caregivers of people living with dementia often face significant physical, psychological, social, and financial burdens, with high prevalence rates of caregiver strain in Malaysia. Mobile health (mHealth) apps have demonstrated potential to enhance caregivers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and to reduce burden. However, few culturally tailored solutions exist for Malaysia. The app was developed to provide locally relevant information, support services, and stress management tools for dementia caregivers.

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) represents a transitional stage between normal aging and Alzheimer disease (AD), where early intervention is critical for preserving cognition and delaying or preventing progression to dementia. Due to the limited availability of curative pharmacological treatments, there is growing interest in traditional and indigenous medicinal interventions, such as (Linn.) or Brahmi, a widely used Ayurvedic nootropic herb. consumption is known to enhance cognitive performance in healthy individuals and is associated with alterations in pathways related to branched-chain and aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. These pathways have been implicated in MCI due to AD pathophysiology. Hence, the efficacy of in aMCI and the mediating metabolic changes need to be systematically evaluated through clinical trials.

There is a significant hidden burden of infectious intestinal disease (IID) in the UK community, which has increased over time. In the late 2000s, the Second Study of Infectious Intestinal Disease (IID2 study) estimated 17 million IID cases annually in the United Kingdom. However, only a small proportion of cases present to health care, and even those are often not tested for causative organisms.

Perianal abscesses are common anorectal conditions that often necessitate surgical intervention. Accurate preoperative assessment is crucial for effective treatment and reducing recurrence rates. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a valuable method for visualizing the degree of infection and infiltration, the extent of abscess formation, and the relationship between perianal abscess erosion. However, there is currently a lack of specific studies focusing on perianal abscesses.

Over 70% of US adults are overweight or have obesity. Internet-delivered weight loss (IDWL) treatment overcomes many common barriers to in-person weight loss (WL) programs; yet, IDWLs underperform compared to in-person treatment. Yoga is a novel intervention that targets physical and psychological health and can be delivered virtually, increasing translation potential. Yoga has been understudied as an intervention to address barriers to WL despite favorable effects in other health disciplines. Preliminary studies suggest yoga to improve self-regulation and reduce lapses from dietary recommendations, 2 factors integral to long-term WL success.

Adolescent and young adult cancer survivors face a high burden of psychological late effects, with cancer-related anxiety being a prevalent mental health concern. Despite the significant need for care, more than half of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors, who require psychosocial services, remain untreated. Digital health interventions offer a promising solution to bridge this care gap. Attention bias modification (ABM) is an evidence-based digital intervention for anxiety disorders. This intervention targets automatic and unconscious negative attention biases and retrains attention away from threat and toward neutral or positive stimuli. Recent research has successfully adapted ABM interventions for cancer survivors. However, ABM has not yet been adapted or tested for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) works on the principle of the gate control theory of pain and is used as a nonpharmacological pain management intervention. Music therapy or listening to self-selected music has also been shown to reduce pain intensity, anxiety, and depression. There has been no published literature that has explored whether these modalities can work synergistically.

The management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains a complex clinical challenge, particularly for patients requiring multiple daily insulin injections (MDI). Advances in precision medicine and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) have created opportunities to personalize treatment and potentially reduce the therapeutic burden on people with T2DM. Assessing β cell function and autoimmunity could help identify patients with T2DM eligible for simplified regimens without compromising glycemic control.

Neuromuscular diseases (NMDs) are often progressive conditions that can reduce quality of life and life expectancy and require long-term caregiving. As patients age, caregivers face increasing demands, often resulting in significant caregiver burden. Treatment and care are complex, and a coordinated, family-centered approach is indicated. The current care situation for individuals with NMDs and their families in Switzerland is poorly understood, and there is no standardized NMD care management available.

Computed tomography (CT)–guided online stereotactic adaptive radiotherapy (CT-STAR) allows for ablative radiation doses to be delivered to selected patients with borderline resectable (BR) or locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) or unresectable pancreatic cancer. However, the use of CT-STAR to deliver an ablative dose to the pancreas while minimizing gastrointestinal (GI) side effects to reduce acute and late toxicity rates compared to historic controls has yet to be prospectively evaluated.