JMIR Formative Research

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.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for telepsychiatry in neurodevelopmental assessment; however, few studies have examined the interrater reliability of clinician-rated autism scales, such as the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition (CARS2), when used remotely. Although the feasibility and validity of telehealth assessments have been explored previously, the consistency between remote and in person CARS2 ratings by different clinicians remains underinvestigated.

Mental Health Online, MindSpot, and THIS WAY UP are 3 Australian Government–funded digital mental health services (DMHSs). These services are free for consumers and deliver a range of (depression and anxiety disorder) psychological assessments and interventions using the internet, with or without clinician support.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) involves an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse consequences and represents a major public health problem. While AUD is most prevalent among college students, integrated evidence-based treatments for this population are lacking.

Adequate sleep supports mood regulation and injury prevention in high school female athletes; however, insufficient sleep is common in this population. Wearable devices enable continuous assessment of objective sleep metrics, but personalized feedback based on daily sleep data remains underexplored.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor in adults, with a poor prognosis despite Stupp protocol treatment. Given the substantial burden of the disease and its therapies, monitoring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is essential. Smartphone-based approaches may enable continuous, low-burden monitoring.

Despite being established risk factors for poor mental or brain health outcomes in aging, rest-activity rhythm (RAR) disturbances are not routinely monitored or treated. This is, in part, due to a lack of clinician-friendly RAR monitoring systems.

A sedentary lifestyle is a global health crisis that contributes to chronic disease and premature mortality. Adolescents with mild intellectual disability attending Dutch practical education (PrO) schools face elevated health risks due to low levels of physical activity (PA) and limited conceptual, social, and practical skills. Digital health interventions offer scalable solutions, but require contextual adaptation informed by formative research. However, understanding of PA behavior in this population and context remains limited because existing research relies on partial lenses and lacks integration of theory, participatory methods, and multistakeholder insights.

The digitalization of health care has accelerated the adoption of mobile health (mHealth) apps in general and family medicine in Portugal. These tools may support chronic disease management and clinical decision-making. However, limited high-quality scientific evidence and the absence of a national framework for certification and quality standards create uncertainty about their safe integration into clinical practice.

The Dutch childcare benefits scandal (toeslagenschandaal) involved the wrongful labeling of thousands of parents as fraudsters in the childcare allowance system. This led to long-term harm for families and a profound trust crisis in governmental institutions. While the national recovery operation provided financial compensation, municipalities were tasked with offering broader support across life domains to youth who grew up in affected families. Central to this effort was helping them “come to terms” with the scandal by acknowledging, processing, and moving forward from its practical and emotional consequences. Yet, many youths remain hard to reach due to distrust and avoidance of institutional contact.

Defensive medicine (DM) is particularly relevant in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), where physicians face substantial medicolegal risks and malpractice-related pressures. Defensive practices may involve cost-increasing diagnostic or therapeutic behaviors and avoidance of high-risk patients or procedures. Identifying factors independently associated with DM may help inform organizational and medicolegal interventions.