JMIR Research Protocols

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are increasingly becoming a public health challenge, particularly in resource-limited settings, due to limited access to preventive care, early detection, and health literacy. Nevertheless, there is immense potential for digital technologies to enhance the overall community health. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) Package of Essential NCD (PEN) interventions for primary health care in low-resource settings has demonstrated evidence of improving NCD outcomes. Nevertheless, its effectiveness in the Indian setting has not been explored.

African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) populations in high-income countries (HICs) continue to experience long-standing health inequities rooted in structural and anti-Black racism embedded in health systems, policies, and institutional practices. From an ecosocial perspective, these inequities reflect the embodiment of intersecting forms of oppression structured through racialized, gendered, and socioeconomic relations. Critical racial literacy (CRL) has emerged as a promising framework for recognizing and addressing structural racism in ways that foster critical reflection and support justice-oriented action in health contexts. However, evidence on how CRL is conceptualized and operationalized in health research, policy, and practice concerning ACB communities remains fragmented and limited.

Specifically in primary musculoskeletal care settings, the employment of advanced physiotherapy practice (APP) roles seems to be safe, as well as clinically and financially effective. In tertiary care settings, the implementation of APP roles is still in its infancy. A structured identification of relevant APP roles and a definition of practice areas, needed skills, and core competencies is widely pending.

Postmastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) is a prevalent chronic pain condition that occurs after breast cancer surgery, often impairing quality of life in survivors of breast cancer. Despite its prevalence, no standardized treatment has been established. Acupuncture has been reported to be an efficacious intervention for the management of chronic pain and may be an effective treatment for PMPS.

Clinical guidelines (CGs) standardize care through evidence-based recommendations, while clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can assist in applying these guidelines to individual patients. The scientific basis for the decisions offered by decision support systems is often not explicitly stated or not clearly specified in the literature on CDSS. Therefore, a systematic examination of the literature is needed to map the current state of CDSS, with a particular focus on the integration of CGs.

Cholangiocarcinoma is an aggressive biliary tract malignancy with poor long-term survival and high recurrence rates even after apparently curative surgery. Although postoperative systemic therapy is incorporated into contemporary management, the role of neoadjuvant therapy remains uncertain because the available evidence is heterogeneous and largely observational and often mixes initially resectable and initially unresectable disease.

Bereavement is a common and inevitable part of life. However, it is also difficult and disruptive. Prolonged grief disorder has recently been added to the , and the . Grief is a deeply cultural experience; however, most research about grief and grief intervention is conducted in Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) countries. Support for grief is often limited and difficult to access. We propose that ecological momentary interventions (EMIs) present an opportunity to widen access to grief support and develop culturally relevant interventions, given EMIs’ easy accessibility and opportunity to offer self-help support in people’s natural environments.

Sedentary behavior is associated with negative health outcomes. High levels of sedentary behavior are common among Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) caregivers already at risk of other adverse health effects, yet few interventions target sedentary behavior within this population. There is a need for trials intended to reduce time spent sedentary, which may be achievable by increasing the frequency of disruptions to sedentary time. Remotely delivered behavior change techniques (BCTs) may be effective for disrupting sedentary behavior in this population through short bursts of walking, although it is unclear how BCTs promote this behavior and potentially act via the hypothesized mechanism of behavioral automaticity.

Lasers have wide applications in medicine but are associated with pain and anxiety, particularly in younger patients. Pain mitigation is often limited to topical anesthetics in the outpatient setting. Distraction techniques are limited by the need for ocular protection, which can include eye patches that completely occlude vision. Virtual reality (VR) is effective at managing procedural pain and anxiety during other short medical procedures and is a promising tool for this population.

Liver cirrhosis leads to an impaired liver function with reduced metabolic capacity, which affects the pharmacokinetics of several drugs, requiring dose adjustments. Although limited literature provides guidance on appropriate administration of drugs in cirrhosis, no guidelines currently exist for dose selection or adjustment.

Most people with dementia reside in the community and are cared for by family members. Family caregivers play an essential role in supporting their loved ones with dementia and require adequate education and support to address their care needs. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the use of chatbot technologies in health care, particularly to provide education and support for caregivers. However, evidence on the development, use, and effectiveness of these technologies in dementia care remains limited.

Postoperative insomnia is one of the common complaints caused by spinal metastatic cancer surgery. It affects patients’ functional recovery, greatly reduces their quality of life, and adversely impacts disease prognosis. Compared with traditional pharmacological treatments, acupuncture is an alternative therapy for postoperative insomnia. However, standardized, high-quality randomized controlled trials on electroacupuncture for postoperative insomnia in patients with spinal metastasis (SM) are scarce, and there is a lack of clear inclusion criteria for this specific population. Postoperative insomnia in patients with SM has distinct clinical characteristics compared with general cancer-related insomnia, necessitating targeted investigation.