JMIR Research Protocols

The Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative remains a national priority in the United States, aiming to reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030. As we cross the initiative’s midpoint, there is renewed commitment to strengthening the HIV workforce’s capacity to plan, implement, and sustain effective HIV prevention, treatment, and care interventions. Despite substantial improvement in HIV outcomes, uneven implementation of evidence-based interventions reflects persistent gaps between available evidence and its translation into locally actionable practice. Achieving EHE goals requires tailoring implementation to the diverse sociostructural conditions shaping HIV outcomes across jurisdictions. Research increasingly highlights the value of integrated, contextual data to strengthen public health decision-making. Linking indicators spanning multiple conceptual domains across various geographic levels can support a robust understanding of the distinct drivers of HIV outcomes, yet existing data systems remain fragmented. A harmonized, multisource, multilevel database is therefore essential to support targeted, needs-based, and data-driven implementation under the EHE initiative. We present a reproducible protocol detailing the transferable methodology of building and maintaining such a resource.

On December 20, 2024, a vehicle-ramming attack occurred at the Magdeburg Christmas market, resulting in 6 fatalities and more than 300 injuries. Mass violence incidents have the potential to cause long-lasting psychosocial consequences for directly and indirectly affected individuals. However, the outcomes can vary depending on relevant risk and protective factors. To improve the psychosocial aftercare of mass violence incidents in Germany, more research is essential.

The postnatal period is a critical phase for maternal and newborn survival, during which many preventable complications and deaths occur, yet postnatal care (PNC) use remains low in Ethiopia. Care-seeking and postpartum practices are shaped by knowledge and also by interacting cognitive, interpersonal, sociocultural, and environmental determinants, including perceived risk, self-efficacy, family influence, social norms, and culturally embedded beliefs. Existing educational interventions largely prioritize information provision and insufficiently address these determinants, limiting the translation of knowledge into timely PNC use and safe maternal and newborn care practices.

Sexual assault can have devastating consequences for survivors, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol misuse. Interventions provided in the initial months following a sexual assault can prevent the development of chronic problems. Early interventions that are brief, accessible, and focused on shared vulnerabilities may improve efficacy.

In a changing world of work, integrative prevention at work represents a promising avenue for addressing contemporary health, safety, and well-being issues. However, for organizations to deploy and benefit from this approach, developing an assessment tool for integrative prevention appears to be the first required step. No existing assessment tool can assess all its key characteristics on a unified scale, limiting the operationalization of this approach in organizations.

A growing body of research has implicated systemic inflammation in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN), with the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) emerging as a potential biomarker. However, individual studies and previous evidence syntheses have reported substantial heterogeneity in patient populations, DN definitions, renal function measures, and NLR thresholds, limiting the comparability and interpretation of findings. The extent to which these clinical and methodological differences contribute to variability in the association between NLR and DN remains insufficiently characterized.

Cancer predisposition syndromes (CPSs) are identified in approximately 10% of pediatric patients with cancer, and the number of children known to be affected by CPSs is steadily increasing. Families of children and adolescents with a CPS face substantial psychosocial challenges, including uncertainty regarding genetic risk, communication, long-term surveillance requirements, and concerns about future health outcomes. Despite these challenges, little is known about the psychosocial burden, supportive care needs, and current care situation of affected families in Germany.

Oral diadochokinesis (oral-DDK) measures rapid, accurate repetition of syllables or syllable sequences and is widely used in speech motor assessment. Its interpretation requires attention to task demands and medical or physiological factors, as well as possible correspondence with everyday speech.

There is emerging evidence suggesting shared pathophysiological mechanisms between cataracts and cardiovascular disease (CVD), indicating a potential link between these 2 prevalent noncommunicable diseases. Oxidative stress, resulting from an imbalance between reactive oxygen species production and the body’s antioxidant defenses, contributes to lens protein aggregation in cataracts and lipid oxidation in atherosclerosis, a key feature of several CVD subtypes. This shared pathophysiology implies that systemic vascular health may influence cataractogenesis. However, the epidemiological evidence supporting this relationship remains inconclusive.

Radical prostatectomy (RP) is an accepted, definitive treatment for appropriately selected men with high-risk localized prostate cancer (PCa). However, neoadjuvant androgen receptor inhibition prior to RP is not currently the standard of care. Wide resection of the neurovascular bundles may improve local oncologic control but can adversely affect postoperative erectile function and urinary continence. Apalutamide directly inhibits the androgen receptor, while abiraterone acetate inhibits cytochrome P450 17A1–mediated androgen synthesis and is often administered with prednisone. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists further suppress testicular androgen production. Intensified androgen pathway inhibition prior to surgery may therefore downstage localized disease and facilitate bilateral nerve-sparing RP.

High myopia (spherical equivalent refractive error [SER] ≤–6.00 diopters) is a prominent global cause of visual impairment, but its structural alterations are inadequately documented at all severity levels in Indian tertiary hospitals.

Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Varenicline is the most effective monotherapy for smoking cessation, and combining it with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) may further improve cessation rates. Smartphone-based medication adherence interventions could enhance pharmacotherapy adherence and cessation outcomes.