JMIR Formative Research

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global health threat, requiring effective antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and surveillance systems. At the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB) in Rwanda, a baseline Laboratory Assessment of Antibiotic Resistance Testing Capacity (LAARC) identified critical gaps in the Laboratory Information System (LIS), including low capture rates for culture observation (60%) and AST data (25%), no standardization of AST panels (0%), and limited cumulative antibiogram generation (17%). Existing AMR surveillance platforms such as the Information System for Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance by World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Surveillance of Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents (WHONET),[1] and DHIS2 operate as standalone systems separate from clinical workflows, limiting real-time clinical utility.[2–5]

Smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods highlight the impact of minority stress and socialization (eg, discrimination, social support) on smoking behaviors in LGBTQ+ adults, however studies among LGBTQ+ adolescents are limited. The Puff Break EMA protocol was developed to address this gap.

The lack of osteoporosis treatment initiation following fragility fractures is a recognized gap, particularly in primary care. Primary care physicians (PCPs) barriers to treatment, such as uncertainties in investigation, initiation, and concerns about drug side effects, remain challenging. It is also unclear whether knowledge gaps and barriers vary by region, or if active learning platforms are more effective than passive methods in improving treatment rates, and how PCP demographics influence learning outcomes. With time constraints, PCPs are increasingly using online platforms for continuing professional development (CPD), and the interactive online Community Fracture Capture (CFC) tool has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional methods. Our CFC pilot study tested this program's design and content, revealing its potential effectiveness.

The demand for palliative care is rising due to population aging and increased chronic illness. However, access to timely palliative care remains limited, particularly for patients receiving home-based hospice care in rural areas. Digital health technologies present an opportunity to enhance care delivery and communication at home.

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions are prevalent, but people from marginalized communities are less likely to use digital health technology to support self-management behaviors. Community engagement can inform healthcare design to enhance a hypertension self-management mHealth intervention.

The broad spectrum of issues that survivors face after critical illness and the contextual factors that help or hinder remain underexplored, as do their perspectives on what is important during recovery. Photovoice methods offer a means to convey experiences through participant-generated photographs and related narratives that can extend existing notions of illness and wellness.

Tooth decay is an important public health concern worldwide, including in Canada and affects individuals of all ages. Dietary intake is critical to tooth decay prevention as both the types of foods and beverages you eat as well as how food and beverages are consumed (e.g., frequency) can impact tooth decay. Foods and beverages can both protect against and promote tooth decay.

Mild eating difficulties are increasingly prevalent among young people, yet service capacity remains limited. Digital interventions may provide accessible, scalable support, particularly for those with mild, subthreshold or early-stage symptoms who do not meet criteria for specialist care. Low self-esteem is widely recognised as a key psychological risk factor in the onset and persistence of eating disorders, and negative self-evaluation, particularly around body image and social acceptance, can heighten vulnerability to the maladaptive thoughts and behaviors seen in conditions such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Clarifying this relationship is essential for developing effective prevention and early intervention strategies.

Use of technological resources that provide support for mental health (ie, digital mental health tools) and opportunities to use the internet to communicate with others or receive information about mental health (ie, online mental health communication) are growing in popularity among young adults (ages 18-29). However, whether exposure to the negative experience of racism online is associated with use of digital mental health tools and online mental health communication remains an important empirical question for Black young adults, given their frequent online use and engagement.

Telehealth has emerged as an essential health care tool, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when in-person medical services were significantly restricted. While telehealth adoption surged during the pandemic, disparities in its access and use have been observed, especially among vulnerable populations. Understanding these trends and identifying barriers is crucial for promoting equitable health care delivery.

The popularity of large language models (LLMs) has grown exponentially across health care. Despite the wealth of literature on proposed applications in medical education, there remains a critical gap regarding their real-world use, benefits, and challenges as experienced by medical students themselves.

Psychological distress among surrogate decision-makers (surrogates) for patients with critical illness is well documented. Existing interventions for supporting surrogates in their role often target surrogates’ informational needs without directly addressing surrogates’ acute emotional burden. Therefore, we developed the Reappraisal-Enhanced Foundation for Regulating Affect and Managing Emotions (REFRAME) intervention, a tablet-based app that empowers surrogates to manage their psychological distress with cognitive reappraisal.