JMIR Research Protocols

Up to 92% of individuals with eating disorders (EDs) report engaging in body checking behaviors (eg, repeated self-weighing and pinching of various body parts) to assess their weight and shape. These behaviors contribute to increased body dissatisfaction, negative affect, and dietary restriction, thereby maintaining ED symptomology.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat that increases the burden of infectious diseases and disproportionately affects communities of low socioeconomic status. Despite the call for community-level AMR data, prospective studies from rural sub-Saharan African communities to inform appropriate targeted interventions remain scarce. Given the role of enteric bacteria in AMR transmission dynamics, there is a need to understand the timing, risk factors, and ecological drivers of gut resistome acquisition and development during infancy.

Hispanic youth are disproportionately impacted by obesity and subsequent type 2 diabetes (T2D) yet remain underrepresented in diabetes prevention research. Digital health interventions hold promise for increasing the accessibility to and engagement in disease prevention programming, particularly among high-risk populations. However, there is a significant gap in the literature regarding digital T2D prevention programs for adolescents or Hispanic youth.

Long-term care (LTC) homes across Canada are facing a crisis in worker recruitment and retention. In the province of Ontario, personal support workers (PSWs) make up 58% of the LTC workforce and play a key role in addressing staffing shortages. Despite the provincial training and education standards implemented in 2014, PSWs working in LTC consistently report feeling unprepared and undersupported and a lack of confidence, leading to high turnover rates. Integrated learning approaches such as the Living Classroom may ease the transition from education to practice, supporting recruitment and retention of PSWs into LTC.

India faces a complex spectrum of malnutrition, with undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and rising overweight and obesity coexisting across populations and life stages. National surveys, such as the National Family Health Survey, Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey, and WHO STEPwise approach to Surveillance, provide essential population-level estimates but are episodic, limiting their utility for timely, institution-level prevention and early detection of nutrition and metabolic risks. Continuous, life course–oriented surveillance is required to support responsive public health action and double-duty approaches addressing multiple forms of malnutrition.

Severe malaria remains a major global health challenge, particularly in endemic regions, where it causes substantial morbidity and mortality, especially among children and pregnant women. Although numerous clinical trials have evaluated treatments for severe malaria, heterogeneity in outcome selection, definition, and measurement limits comparability across studies, hampers evidence synthesis, and contributes to research waste. There is currently no established core outcome set (COS) for trials specifically focused on severe malaria treatment. Developing a COS is therefore essential to improve outcome standardization, strengthen evidence synthesis, and support evidence-based clinical practice.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) leads to pain, disability, and reduced quality of life. For advanced stages, knee arthroplasty surgery is the standard treatment, yet dissatisfaction and persistent mobility deficits remain common. Current surgical decision-making processes seldom incorporate objective predictors of outcomes, such as biomechanical data. Advances in computer vision, wearable sensors, and artificial intelligence now enable efficient capture and interpretation of clinically prognostic gait features in real-world settings. However, the clinical adoption of such innovations remains limited, hindered by usability challenges, misalignment with stakeholder needs, and system-level barriers.

Operational research (OR) in eye care within resource-constrained settings helps develop context-specific solutions to local challenges. Building OR capacity among eye care personnel enables them to independently generate evidence that drives improvements in eye care delivery.

In the United States, the prevalence of Alzheimer disease (AD) is projected to double over the next 30 years, with associated familial and societal costs estimated at US $1 trillion annually if current trends continue. Although pharmacological treatments of AD are showing promise, the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors, particularly during the preclinical phase of AD, may reduce dementia rates by up to 45%. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), defined as persistent self-perceived declines in cognitive functioning compared with previously normal cognitive abilities, has been identified as a potential preclinical stage of AD.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition marked by social communication deficits and cognitive impairment. As pharmacological and behavioral treatments often show inconsistent efficacy, massage therapy—a low-risk complementary approach including and acupressure—is used to improve cognitive symptoms, yet its systematic efficacy and safety remain unevaluated.

Playfulness—being and acting playful—is often associated with childhood, yet evidence suggests that it remains a meaningful resource throughout life. In later life, playfulness may support social connectedness, emotional well-being, and a sense of agency, even in contexts of illness or institutional living. Playfulness encompasses not only observable playful activities but also an inner disposition, such as curiosity, humor, or spontaneity, which may be constrained by environmental barriers, aging, or functional limitations. Despite its potential relevance for health and person-centered care, playfulness remains underexplored in gerontological and caregiving research. No validated instrument currently exists to assess playfulness among older adults in Swedish municipal care. This research program addresses this gap by clarifying the concepts of play and playfulness and by developing and psychometrically evaluating a new instrument, Play and Supportive Environments (PLAY-SE).

The effectiveness of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treatment is highly time-dependent, and the information barrier between prehospital and in-hospital settings remains a key driver of treatment delays. Existing digital coordination tools either have a single function or lack long-term real-world evidence, making it difficult to meet clinical needs. This study adopts a prehospital chest pain alert app developed by the Fengxian District Medical Emergency Center. Mediated through a WeChat-based chest pain center group, the app enables prehospital information synchronization, real-time alerts, multidisciplinary coordination, and feedback on treatment outcomes to form a closed-loop model, overcoming the information barrier.