JMIR Formative Research

Observing eye movements during episodic vertigo attacks is crucial for accurately diagnosing vestibular disorders. In clinical practice, many cases lack observable symptoms or clear findings during outpatient examinations, leading to diagnostic challenges. An accurate diagnosis is essential for timely treatment, as conditions such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), Ménière's disease, and vestibular migraine require different therapeutic approaches.

Mental health issues among Canadian postsecondary students are prevalent. In tandem, an increased acknowledgement of the need for upstream mental health support has been highlighted. While the majority of institutions offer some form of mental health promotion, research suggests students are failing to access supports due to barriers including: lack of awareness, geographical and financial barriers, and/or lack of relevance in offerings. Canada’s Student Mental Health Network is an online knowledge mobilization initiative designed to fill these gaps. With content created and curated “for-students, by-students” and reviewed by subject matter experts, the Network serves as a one-stop shop for evidence-based, mental health support for postsecondary students.

The wide use of smartphones offers large-scale opportunities for real-time data collection methods such as Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to assess how fluctuations in contextual and psychosocial factors influence parents’ feeding practices and feeding goals, particularly when feeding children with high food approach.

Case studies have shown ChatGPT can run clinical simulations at the medical student level. However, no data have assessed ChatGPT’s reliability in meeting desired simulation criteria such as medical accuracy, simulation formatting, and robust feedback mechanisms.

Antidepressants are crucial for managing major depressive disorders; however, nonadherence remains a widespread challenge, driven by concerns over side effects, fear of dependency, and doubts about efficacy. Understanding patients’ experiences is essential for improving patient-centered care and enhancing adherence, which prioritizes individual needs in treatment.

Young adults in the United States are experiencing accelerating rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors but have the lowest rates of formal mental health care. Digital suicide prevention interventions have the potential to increase access to suicide prevention care by circumventing attitudinal and structural barriers that prevent access to formal mental health care. These tools should be designed in collaboration with young adults who have lived experience of suicide-related thoughts and behaviors to optimize acceptability and use.

Contrary to popular concerns about the harmful effects of media use on mental health, research on this relationship is ambiguous, stalling advances in theory, interventions, and policy. Scientific explorations of the relationship between media and mental health have mostly been found null or have small associations, with the results often blamed on the use of cross-sectional study designs or imprecise measures of media use and mental health.

The suicide rate among men exceeds that of women worldwide. One important measure in suicide prevention for men is digital communication interventions, as they enable easy and anonymous access to information resources. This is especially important for men who might not be reached by traditional, in-person prevention methods. Thus, as part of an interdisciplinary project on suicide prevention for men, two specific digital communication prevention measures were developed: (1) a website to inform men at risk about suicide prevention, and (2) a website to educate potential gatekeepers who are in contact with men at risk of suicide about appropriate life-saving measures. Both websites needed evaluation to explore how they are perceived by (1) men and by (2) potential gatekeepers of men at risk of suicide. This is crucial, as existing research lacks formative evaluation that informs the development of intervention communication materials.

Cognitive assessment is an important component of applied psychology, but limited access and high costs make these evaluations challenging.

Musculoskeletal conditions, including low back pain (LBP), neck pain, and knee osteoarthritis, are the greatest contributors to years lived with disability worldwide. Resources aiming to aid both patients and health care professionals (HCPs) exist but are poorly implemented and adopted.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) resulting from sedentary behavior (SB) are adding a further strain on the South African health system, which is already struggling to manage infectious diseases. Some countries have enabled children to reduce SB at school by substituting traditional furniture with sit-stand classroom furniture, allowing learners to interrupt prolonged bouts of sitting with standing without interrupting their school work. Alternating between sitting and standing also benefits spinal health by interrupting prolonged periods of high spinal loading, but no such intervention has been trialed in South Africa. The potential to reduce strain on the health system by reducing the incidence of NCDs and improving spinal health requires further consideration. Before embarking on a large classroom-based trial, it is essential to determine the acceptability of the intervention, its impact on teachers’ practices, and the logistical and pragmatic considerations of data collection.

Measuring heart rate variability (HRV) through wearable photoplethysmography sensors from smartwatches is gaining popularity for monitoring many health conditions. However, missing data caused by insufficient wear compliance or signal quality can degrade the performance of health metrics or algorithm calculations. Research is needed on how to best account for missing data and to assess the accuracy of metrics derived from photoplethysmography sensors.