JMIR Formative Research

This exploratory case study primarily examined the feasibility of using consumer-grade wearable devices for longitudinal sleep tracking and observed descriptive visual trends between sleep patterns and balance performance. Two college students participated over 4 months. Participant 1 used an Apple Watch Series 5 and an OURA ring; participant 2 used a Fitbit Charge 5 and an OURA ring. Data were collected continuously alongside daily sleep diaries and monthly sensory organization test (SOT) balance assessments. As a primary feasibility outcome, missing data rates were initially high (up to 75.2%) but improved significantly after implementing structured weekly check-ins, dropping to 14.1% and 20.3% for the wrist devices, 9.4% and 25% for the OURA rings, and 0% and 6.25% for the sleep diaries in the optimized phase. Wearables showed varying concordance with sleep diaries for time in bed (TIB), with the Apple Watch showing the least bias (–0.6 min) and the Fitbit and OURA overestimating TIB. While devices showed excellent within-participant agreement for total sleep time (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.97‐0.99), agreement was poor for specific sleep stages. Regarding secondary exploratory observations, descriptive visual trends showed that fluctuations in sleep timing and duration coincided with changes in SOT visual subscale scores. In conclusion, consumer wearables are feasible for long-term sleep monitoring when supported by active compliance protocols. While sleep consistency was visually patterned alongside postural stability, these balance findings are strictly exploratory, hypothesis-generating, and not generalizable due to the small sample size and potential practice effects from repeated testing.

Acute poisoning in children remains a significant cause of emergency admission and is largely preventable. Its epidemiological profile varies across settings according to age, household environment, and locally available toxic agents. Understanding the patterns, management, and outcomes of pediatric poisoning is important for improving prevention and clinical care.

Accelerometers produce high-resolution physical activity data, but commonly used summary measures often reduce these data to total volume, intensity, or variability and may not retain interpretable temporal structure across the day. Cluster-based summaries may provide a way to characterize daily physical activity profiles while preserving information about when activity occurs.

Early detection and monitoring of wound-related complications after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are critical to optimize outcomes and preserve implants. Conventional postoperative monitoring relies on in-person assessment and patient-reported symptoms, which may delay recognition. Noncontact imaging acquired in the clinic or at home offers a potential route to earlier and more consistent assessment.

Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE-ε4), the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD), is associated with early neuromotor vulnerability that may precede measurable cognitive decline. Because speech integrates fine neuromotor processes, acoustic analysis could offer a sensitive, noninvasive marker of preclinical effects.

Mothers, especially those with low socioeconomic status and minoritized identities, encounter barriers to participating in physical activity (PA), a behavior that improves health outcomes. Moms on the Move (MOMs) is a community-based and theory-informed intervention developed to address the PA barriers endorsed by low-income Black and Hispanic mothers. This intervention offered in-person group PA sessions led by a female fitness instructor and held during children’s sports practices. The MOMs intervention was piloted in 2022 and 2023; the intervention in 2023 was longer (8-weeks, vs 6-weeks) and included goal-setting calls and written materials.

With the rise of digital health, mental health apps (MHapps) have become an increasingly popular tool in the self-management of depression, anxiety, and stress. Star ratings are often used as indicators of app quality to guide selection. However, ratings do not fully capture if the MHapp’s features, usability, or design elements exhibit the heterogeneous real-life user experiences. Instead, examining the patterns of engagement and app usage can highlight whether high ratings reflect diverse user needs.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has received increasing attention in evidence-based medicine. However, its largely experience-based and practice-oriented nature has slowed modernization and standardization. Advances in AI provide new opportunities for integrating AI with TCM.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the rapid integration of telemedicine into health care delivery. As a result, the ability to effectively collaborate in interprofessional virtual teams became a necessity, as did the development of educational opportunities designed to equip health care students with these skills. Currently, there is a lack of dedicated tools to assess learners’ ability and readiness to function as a well-coordinated virtual medical team.

This pilot study provides evidence that multimodal online recruitment and engagement are feasible for mixed methods social determinants of health research with sociodemographically diverse Black breast cancer survivors.

Exergames are increasingly used in rehabilitation to simultaneously target physical and cognitive functions. Game scores are commonly used as indicators of performance, yet it remains unclear to what extent they reflect underlying movement and cognitive-control demands. Understanding this relationship is essential for interpreting what exergame performance scores reflect during gameplay.

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are common among nursing home residents, notably those with Alzheimer disease and related diseases, impacting both themselves and health care professionals. Nonpharmacological interventions, including virtual reality (VR), have shown promise, but evidence from multicenter ecological studies remains limited.