JMIR Formative Research

Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a curriculum-based approach to learning and teaching about sexuality that focuses on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social domains. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) CSE guideline emphasizes gender issues and is firmly rooted in a human rights–based approach to sexuality. A recent cross-sectional community readiness assessment in Islamabad, Pakistan, found that the community is at the denial or resistant stage when it comes to implementing school-based sexuality education. The reluctance was attributed to a lack of understanding and widespread misconceptions about CSE.

Smartwatches are increasingly popular for physical activity and health promotion. However, ongoing validation studies on commercial smartwatches are still needed to ensure their accuracy in assessing daily activity levels, which is important for both promoting activity-related health behaviors and serving research purposes.

Ischemic heart disease is a leading cause of death globally with a disproportionate burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Natural language processing (NLP) allows for data enrichment in large datasets to facilitate key clinical research. We used NLP to assess gender differences in symptoms and management of patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at Aga Khan University Hospital-Pakistan.

Academic research on digital mental health tends to focus on its efficacy and effectiveness, with much less attention paid to user preferences and experiences in real-world settings.

Excessive alcohol use is associated with significant harms, with wide-ranging social and economic impacts. Efforts to prevent and reduce the harmful use of alcohol are a public health priority. Smartphone apps have potential to provide accessible and cost-effective support to those seeking to reduce alcohol consumption, however the evidence base regarding which components are effective is lacking. Self-monitoring is considered as one of the most effective components for behaviour change across multiple health domains, yet there is mixed evidence for its role in the alcohol use space. Improved understanding of use, acceptability and outcomes of smartphone apps and their inherent components is required to determine their potential role in alcohol behaviour change.

Malnutrition is a major global health challenge. Worldwide, approximately 390 million adults are underweight, while 2.5 billion are overweight. The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) has been implemented successfully in the United Kingdom to assess the nutritional status of patients in health care settings. Currently, MUST is available as a web-based tool or as a paper-based version, However, the paper tool can lead to calculation errors, and web-based tools require internet access, limiting use in some communities. The MUST app uses clear and simple navigation and processes information precisely, so could potentially improve the accuracy and accessibility of malnutrition screening for health care professionals (HCP) in all settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022 prompted governments worldwide to enforce lockdowns and social restrictions, alongside the rapid adoption of digital health and care services. However, there are concerns about the potential exclusion of older adults, who face barriers to digital inclusion, such as age, socioeconomic status, literacy level, and ethnicity.

Marker-less motion tracking methods have promise for use in a range of domains, including clinical settings where traditional marker-based systems for human pose estimation are not feasible. Artificial intelligence- (AI) based systems can offer a marker-less, lightweight approach to motion capture. However, the accuracy of such systems, such as MediaPipe, for tracking fine upper limb movements involving the hand has not been explored.

The rapid development of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, has significantly impacted medical research and education. These models have shown potential in fields ranging from radiological imaging interpretation to medical licensing exam assistance. Recently, LLMs have been enhanced with image recognition capabilities.

The digital shift toward remote consultations in general practice needs ongoing monitoring to understand its impact on general practice organizations and the wider health care system.

COVID-19 has posed a significant global threat to public health due to its high contagion risk and lack of effective treatment. While quarantine measures have been crucial in controlling the virus’s spread, they have also contributed to negative impacts on individuals’ mental health. Music listening has emerged as a potential coping mechanism, yet it remains unclear whether mental well-being varies across music preferences.

Web-based information and social support are commonly used in rare disease communities where geographic dispersion and limited provider expertise complicate in-person support. We examined web-based resource use among caregivers of individuals with telomere biology disorders (TBDs), which are rare genetic conditions with long diagnostic odysseys and uncertain prognoses including multiorgan system cancer risk.