JMIR Research Protocols

Clear health disparities have emerged in the rates of COVID-19 exposure, hospitalization, and death among Black, Hispanic, and American Indian (BHAI) individuals, relative to non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals. BHAI populations have been disproportionately affected by lower behavioral health access and heightened negative mental health outcomes during the pandemic.

Chronic diseases and the associated risk factors are preventable with lifestyle changes such as eating a healthier diet and being more physically active. In Malaysia, the prevalence of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases, has risen. In the present study, we explore the potential of co-designing and implementing a digital wellness intervention to promote socially-driven health knowledge and practices in the workplace in Malaysia, drawing on social cognitive theory, social impact theory, and social influence theory.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) reduces HIV acquisition risk by >90% and is a critical lever to reduce HIV incidence. Identifying individuals most likely to benefit from PrEP and retaining them on PrEP throughout HIV risk is critical to realize PrEP’s prevention potential. Individuals with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are an obvious priority PrEP population, but there are no data from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) confirming the effectiveness of integrating PrEP into STI clinics. Assisted partner notification may further enhance STI clinic–based PrEP programming by recruiting PrEP users from the pool of named sexual partners of individuals presenting with an incident STI. However, the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of these integrated and enhanced strategies are unknown.

When introducing artificial intelligence (AI) into clinical care, one of the main objectives is to improve workflow efficiency because AI-based solutions are expected to take over or support routine tasks.

The design of personal protective equipment (PPE) may affect well-being and clinical work. PPE as an integrated item may improve usability and increase adherence by healthcare professionals. Human factors design and safety may reduce occupational-acquired diseases. As an integrated PPE, a lightweight protective air-purifying respirator (L-PAPR) could be used during health procedures where healthcare professionals are exposed to airborne pathogens. The human factors affecting the implementation of alternative PPE such as L-PAPR have not been thoroughly studied. The population of interest is health care professionals, the intervention is the performance by PPE during tasks across the three PPE types 1.) N95 respirators and face shields, 2.)traditional powered air-purifying respirator(PAPR), and 3.) L-PAPR. The outcomes are user error, communications, safety, and end-user preferences.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) can bring HIV-1 levels in blood plasma to the undetectable level and allow a near-normal life expectancy for HIV-infected individuals. Unfortunately, ART is not curative and must be taken for life, because within a few weeks of treatment cessation, HIV viremia rebounds in most patients except for rare elite or posttreatment controllers of viremia. The primary source of this rebound is the highly stable reservoir of latent yet replication-competent HIV-1 proviruses integrated into the genomic DNA of the resting memory cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4+) T cells. To achieve a cure for HIV, understanding the cell reservoir environment is of paramount importance. The size and nature of the viral reservoir might vary according to the timing of therapy, therapeutic response, ART duration, and immune response. The mechanisms of reservoir maintenance generally depend on the levels/type of immune recognition; in addition, the dynamics of viral persistence are different between pediatric and adult populations. This difference could become more evident as children grow toward adolescence.

The death of a partner is a critical life event in later life, which requires grief work as well as the development of a new perspective for the future. Cognitive behavioral web-based self-help interventions for coping with prolonged grief have established their efficacy in decreasing symptoms of grief, depression, and loneliness. However, no study has tested the efficacy for reducing grief after losses occurring less than 6 months ago and the role of self-tailoring of the content.

Suicide is a severe public health problem, resulting in a high number of attempts and deaths each year. Early detection of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) is key to preventing attempts. We discuss passive sensing of digital and behavioral markers to enhance the detection and prediction of STBs.

Stress and anxiety are psychophysiological responses commonly experienced by patients during the perioperative process that can increase presurgical and postsurgical complications to a comprehensive and positive recovery. Preventing and intervening in stress and anxiety can help patients achieve positive health and well-being outcomes. Similarly, the provision of education about surgery can be a crucial component and is inversely correlated with preoperative anxiety levels. However, few patients receive stress and anxiety relief support before surgery, and resource constraints make face-to-face education sessions untenable. Digital health interventions can be helpful in empowering patients and enhancing a more positive experience. Digital health interventions have been shown to help patients feel informed about the possible benefits and risks of available treatment options. However, they currently focus only on providing informative content, neglecting the importance of personalization and patient empowerment.

Smartphone apps that capture surveys and sensors are increasingly being leveraged to collect data on clinical conditions. In mental health, this data could be used to personalize psychiatric support offered by apps so that they are more effective and engaging. Yet today, few mental health apps offer this type of support, often because of challenges associated with accurately predicting users’ actual future mental health.

Adult spinal deformity (ASD) is a deformity in the curvature of the adult spine. ASD includes a range of pathology that leads to decreased quality of life for patients as well as debilitating morbidities. Treatment can range from nonoperative management to long-segment surgical corrections and depends greatly on the deformity and patient profiles. If surgical treatment is indicated, circumferential (a combined anterior and posterior approach) fusion is one of the tools in the spine surgeon’s armamentarium. Depending on the complexity, the procedure is either completed on the same day or staged. Determining whether to perform a circumferential surgery in a staged fashion is based largely on the surgeon’s preference and perception of the individual case complexity; at present, there is no high-quality evidence that can be used to support that decision.

The Medical Monitoring Qualitative (MMP-Qual) Project was designed to collect qualitative data from people with HIV not engaged in medical care that would complement quantitative data collected by the Medical Monitoring Project (MMP)—a national surveillance system—and inform the MMP’s recruitment and data collection methods.