JMIR Formative Research

Morphology-based disciplines such as histology, embryology, and cytogenetics require strong visual learning and rely heavily on visual pattern recognition, with more complex integrative processes, that is, higher-order cognitive skills that connect, interpret, and apply knowledge across contexts. These skills may be supported by social media formats. In parallel, medical students increasingly engage with digital and social media platforms, prompting interest in their potential educational value. Instagram (Meta Platforms, Inc), as an image-centered and interactive medium, has emerged as a potential pedagogical tool. The Histo.Embryo Instagram account was launched in 2023 under the auspices of the French National College of Histologists, Embryologists, and Cytogeneticists (CHEC) to complement traditional teaching with bilingual, interactive, image-based posts.

Digital nudging strategies are increasingly implemented to promote physical activity; yet, evidence from real-world fitness settings remains limited. The early membership period in fitness centers is characterized by high dropout rates, emphasizing the need for formative evaluations that clarify behavioral mechanisms underlying exercise engagement.

TikTok has become a major source of mental health information, yet concerns persist regarding the quality and reliability of psychiatric content disseminated on the platform. While misinformation has been documented for several mental disorders, no study has specifically examined how borderline personality disorder (BPD) is portrayed on TikTok.

Smoking is common in Saudi Arabia, particularly among men. Religion plays a protective role against smoking and serves as a motivator for quitting. Faith-based interventions have shown positive effects in supporting smoking cessation among Muslims who smoke; however, few studies have tested their acceptability when delivered via mobile phone messaging.

In Vietnam, an upper-middle-income country, the majority of people living with HIV smoke. Vietnam has established quitline services to support this population, but they remain underused. Text messaging is widely used in Vietnam, and studies in other countries have shown that text messaging interventions can promote smoking cessation. Our goal was to conduct a formative study to inform the development of a text messaging intervention to increase access to quitline services and promote smoking cessation among people living with HIV who smoke in Vietnam.

Digital tools may support early phases of trauma therapy for adolescents, yet little is known about how an app-based stabilization phase functions in routine child and adolescent psychiatry clinics. To our knowledge, no previous study has qualitatively examined a compassion-integrated, app-based stabilization phase delivered before trauma processing within trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for adolescents.

In 2023, over 117 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide, 40% of them children. Refugee children are at higher risk for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, while professionals may struggle to address mental health and trauma-related concerns across unfamiliar cultural contexts. The Psychiatry Assisting the Culturally Diverse Community in Creating Healing Ties (PACCT) approach supports culturally responsive care for culturally diverse families, but first-line professionals often lack practical support to apply such an approach in routine care.

Multiple-choice examinations are widely used in dental and medical education. To reduce the effects of random guessing, several scoring methods incorporating penalty scores have been proposed. However, it remains unclear whether such scoring methods improve the accuracy of pass or fail decisions when pass marks are appropriately calibrated.

Exercise therapy is effective in managing chronic nonspecific neck pain (CNP). Nevertheless, the high burden of CNP continues to place pressure on existing rehabilitation services, especially in remote or resource-constrained settings where continuous and standardized physical therapy may be difficult to access. By combining home-based exercise with remote supervision and movement feedback, AI-enabled telerehabilitation may broaden access to rehabilitation and support the continued management of CNP.

TikTok is an important source of mental health information for children, adolescents, and young adults, but the accuracy of psychoeducational content remains uncertain. Misleading information may be particularly consequential for younger users, who may have limited digital and health literacy.

In a pilot randomized trial, face-to-face or telephone motivational interviewing (MI) was more efficacious than a smartphone app after 3 months for increasing 6-minute walk distance (primary outcome) and reducing body weight (secondary outcome) in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Little is known about intervention heterogeneity related to social determinants of health (SDOH).

Addressing loneliness is a public health priority, with increasing interest in technological solutions for older adults. However, evidence on real-world feasibility and acceptability of such technologies remains limited.