JMIR Research Protocols

Anxiety and depression impose substantial clinical and economic burdens worldwide, with high prevalence, impaired functioning, and elevated health care costs. Digital self-help interventions offer scalable and potentially cost-effective strategies; however, evidence from rigorously controlled economic evaluations remains sparse.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a prevalent chronic lung disease, and respiratory muscle dysfunction is one of its key pathogenic mechanisms. Liuzijue, a traditional Chinese health exercise, has been widely applied in COPD rehabilitation, showing benefits in improving pulmonary function and quality of life. However, clinical evidence regarding its specific effects on respiratory muscle function remains insufficient.

Primary health care played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic by adapting care delivery to maintain essential services and reduce transmission risks. Home visits were used to monitor individuals in isolation, support vulnerable populations at increased risk, and sustain community-based care. However, their organization and operationalization varied across settings, and the available evidence remains fragmented.

Adolescent violence is a significant public health issue that negatively affects the psychological well-being and social functioning of adolescents. These tendencies generally evolve from problems in anger management and stress tolerance related to inherent or external contributors including familial background, interactions with friends, and school atmosphere. Nurses, particularly in primary health care settings, are strategically positioned to contribute to violence prevention through early identification, intervention, and capacity-building programs for adolescents. However, evidence regarding the implementation of nurse-led violence prevention training, including its effectiveness, training approaches, and contextual influencing factors, remains limited.

Quality indicators in primary care remain predominantly disease-specific and professionally defined, with limited incorporation of what matters most to people living with multiple long-term conditions (MLTCs) and their caregivers. Existing frameworks and quality standards provide important conceptual direction, but few produce a pragmatic set of ready-to-use indicators.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic and relapsing skin disorder that significantly impairs patients’ quality of life. Long-term biologic therapy provides durable efficacy for AD, but raises concerns related to costs, safety, and withdrawal-associated relapse. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history in AD treatment and is usually integrated with biologic treatment to achieve complementary benefits and provide comprehensive care for patients with AD. However, high-quality evidence supporting its real-world efficacy remains limited.

Fatigue is a common debilitating symptom of breast cancer (BC), and its treatment may result in a significant symptom burden and affect adherence to treatment. Graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have separately been shown in previous studies to be beneficial for the management of cancer-related fatigue.

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) are emerging biomarkers used to risk-stratify patients with asymptomatic severe aortic regurgitation (AR) and preserved ejection fraction (EF). Although numerous clinical trials have investigated the efficacy of these biomarkers in patients with aortic stenosis, only a limited number have examined these biomarkers in patients with AR. Therefore, the proposed systematic review and meta-analysis seeks to assess the prognostic value of BNP and/or GLS in patients with severe asymptomatic AR and preserved EF.

Endodontically treated teeth are prone to fractures due to the loss of tooth structure, caries removal, access cavity preparation, and scaling, resulting in compromised strength in the teeth. Posts are used for restoring teeth that have undergone this process, but the role of different fiber posts in resisting fractures in teeth is unclear. Customized carbon fiber posts, customized glass fiber posts, and fiber posts relined with short fiber-reinforced composite (SFRC) are biomechanically efficient. SFRC is used as a relining material around the fiber post to improve adaptation to the root canal.

The use of antidepressants is increasing globally. Despite their obvious benefits, ongoing use of these medications is often not properly monitored or deprescribed when a person returns to better mental health. In addition, providing prescriptions to those who do not have clinical depression leads to personal and societal cost burdens.

Illicit drug use has been rapidly increasing in South Korea, particularly among individuals in their 20s, contributing to a growing burden of substance use disorder (SUD). However, treatment infrastructure remains limited. Nationwide, only a small number of inpatient treatment hospitals are available, and treatment capacity in the Seoul metropolitan area is insufficient to meet growing demand. In addition, community-based addiction services are scarce, creating barriers to continuous care. Digital therapeutics (DTx) have emerged as a promising approach to improve treatment accessibility and continuity of care. In particular, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)–based DTx such as RESET-O, developed in the United States and authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration, have demonstrated clinical benefits in supporting addiction recovery. Building on this concept, our team developed D-STOP, a CBT-based DTx intervention designed to support individuals with SUD in the Korean clinical context.

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is recommended following valve replacement or repair procedures (VRPs), yet participation remains suboptimal among patients undergoing VRPs. Home-based CR (HBCR), including both fully digital and hybrid (mix of HBCR and center-based CR [CBCR]) models, may improve access and uptake. Although prior systematic reviews have examined HBCR in general populations receiving CR, none have specifically considered HBCR among patients who have undergone VRPs—an expanding but under-studied group with distinct rehabilitation needs.