JMIR Formative Research

Vaccine preventable infections result in significant morbidity, mortality and costs in pediatric transplant recipients. Despite intensive care in the pre-transplant period, less than 20% of children are up to date for age-appropriate vaccines at the time of transplant. Mobile health apps have the potential to improve pre-transplant vaccine rates.

Emerging digital health research poses roadblocks to the inclusion of historically marginalized populations in research. Exclusion of underresourced communities in digital health research is a result of multiple factors (eg, limited technology access, decreased digital literacy, language barriers, and historical mistrust of research and research institutions). Alternative methods of access and engagement may aid in achieving long-term sustainability of diversified participation in digital health research, ensuring that developed technologies and research outcomes are effective and equitable.

Approximately 20% of US adults identify as having a mental illness. Structural and other barriers prevent many people from receiving mental health services. Digital mental health apps that provide 24-hour, real-time access to human support may improve access to mental health services. However, information is needed regarding how and why people engage with licensed counselors through a digital, real-time, text-based mental health support app in nonexperimental settings.

Harboring dysfunctional depressogenic cognitions contributes to the development and maintenance of depression. A central goal of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression is to invalidate such cognitions via cognitive reappraisal (CR). However, relatively low remission rates and high dropout rates in CBT demonstrate the need for further improvement. Potentially, the effects of CBT could be enhanced by addressing not only dysfunctional depressogenic cognitions but also body states associated with depression. This may be done, for example, by systematically pairing the invalidation of depressogenic cognitions with the performance of antidepressive kinesthesia.

Serious pulmonary pathologies of infectious, viral or bacterial origin are accompanied by an inflammatory syndrome and an increase in the level of oxidative stress (OS). In these situations, biological measurements of oxidative stress are technically difficult to obtain and their results are difficult to interpret. OS assays without complex preanalytical methods and an interpretation of the results improved by a machine learning method would be greatly useful tool aids for medical and care teams.

Evidence-based guidelines support the use of structured exercise to facilitate concussion recovery. However, despite the growing number of mobile health (mHealth) applications aimed at managing concussion, few focus on delivering exercise rehabilitation protocols. Thus, a mobile application (app) was developed to provide personalized rehabilitation programs based on evidence-based exercise principles designed to cater to individuals recovering from concussions.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is an effective treatment for various hematologic cancers, though it often results in severe side effects and psychological distress, which can negatively impact health outcomes. Integrative therapies like mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness meditation (MM), and music therapy (MT) yield promising results in enhancing both psychosocial outcomes (e.g., reducing anxiety and depression) and physiological adaptation (e.g., decreasing inflammation) in cancer patients.

Dependent older people or those losing their autonomy are at risk of emergency hospitalization. Digital systems that monitor health remotely could be useful in reducing these visits by detecting worsening health conditions earlier. However, few studies have assessed the medico-economic impact of these systems, particularly for older people.

Gait speed indicates of onset or decline of physical performance in sarcopenia. However, real-time measurements of other gait parameters, such as step length, stride length, step width, and support time, are limited. The advent of wearable technology has facilitated the measurement of these parameters, necessitating further investigation into their potential applications.

Machine learning models with time-series data, unlike one-snap data collection that only identifies high-risk patients, can predict the adverse event to aid cancer therapy's race against time.

Telehealth has been effective in managing cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart failure and has shown promising results in managing patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). However, more work is needed to fully understand the effect of telehealth based predictive modelling on the physical fitness of PAD patients.

Cognitive training is increasingly being considered and proposed as a solution for several pathologies, particularly those associated with aging. However, trainees need to be willing to invest enough mental effort to succeed and make progress.