JMIR mHealth and uHealth

Missing data are inevitable in mobile health (mHealth) and ubiquitous health (uHealth) research and are often driven by distinct within- and between-person factors that influence compliance. Understanding these distinct mechanisms underlying nonresponse can inform strategies to improve compliance and strengthen the validity of inferences about health behaviors. However, current missing data handling techniques rarely disentangle these different sources of nonresponse, especially when data are missing not at random.

Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding and avoidable revisits represent significant challenges for healthcare systems, with approximately 20% of patients returning to the ED within 30 days of discharge. To reduce avoidable acute care use, many health systems have adopted ED-based transitional care interventions (TCIs). Among the most scalable and cost-effective strategies is automated text messaging outreach, which facilitates timely follow-up and reinforces discharge instructions. Despite its promise, evidence supporting this approach remains limited.

Accessible mental health support is essential for military members (MM), veterans, and public safety personnel (PSP) who are at increased risk of mental health challenges. Unique barriers to care, however, often leave these populations going untreated. Mental health treatment delivered via apps or websites (i.e., digital mental health interventions; DMHIs) offer an accessible alternative to in-person therapy.

Pregnancy and childbirth involve significant health challenges, including preventable maternal deaths, severe complications, and disparities tied to social determinants, emphasizing the need for improved maternal care. Pregnancy could benefit from a more comprehensive, continuous care model that captures dynamic changes and enhances maternal-fetal outcomes.

Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes (T2D) face many linguistic, cultural, and social determinants of health–related barriers to accessing evidence-based diabetes interventions. Our team developed the culturally and linguistically tailored Chinese American Research and Education (CARE) program to provide evidence-based diabetes education and support to this group and demonstrated the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of the intervention on improving hemoglobin A_1c levels. However, it remains unclear whether the CARE program also improves diabetes self-efficacy and psychosocial outcomes in the same study sample.

Major depressive disorder is often a recurrent condition, with a high risk of relapse for individuals remitted from depression. Early detection of relapse is critical to improve clinical outcomes. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies offer new opportunities for real-time monitoring and prevention of relapse, if the user requirements of the target population are effectively implemented.

Anxiety and depressive disorders affect hundreds of millions globally, with substantial barriers limiting access to evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy. Digital mental health interventions offer potential solutions to improve access to support. However, evidence of efficacy through randomized controlled trials is essential for clinical adoption.

Intensive lifestyle interventions (ILI) improve weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors, but health systems face challenges implementing them. We engaged stakeholders to cocreate and evaluate primary care implementation strategies for ILI components.

Questionnaire-based symptom assessment may introduce recall bias and lacks bidirectional exploration. This is particularly relevant given the unclear direction of the associations between physical activity (PA), sedentary time (ST) and symptoms in patients with COPD. Understanding these associations could inform symptom management strategies and improve patient quality of life.

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a valuable method for capturing real-time data on behaviors and experiences in naturalistic settings. However, maintaining participant engagement in longitudinal (ie, multiburst) EMA studies remains challenging, particularly when collecting intensive data over extended periods. Understanding factors affecting completion rates is essential for designing more effective EMA protocols and interpreting results accurately.

Cancer-related fatigue is a common and significant symptom experienced by cancer patients and survivors across all age groups, profoundly impacting their quality of life. Adolescents and young adults often encounter substantial academic, career, and personal demands, which pose unique challenges in managing this symptom and may have a more profound overall impact on their lives. While digital health interventions show considerable promise in managing cancer-related fatigue, few reviews have specifically addressed their use among adolescents and young adults.

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a common musculoskeletal disorder characterized by persistent knee pain, often without any structural abnormalities. Conservative treatments, particularly exercise therapy, are widely recommended; however, adherence remains generally low, and full recovery is often not achieved. Psychological interventions can aid in symptom management; however, studies integrating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is known to be effective for chronic pain, with exercise therapy for patients with PFP are limited. This study examined the impact of MORA Cure (PFP), a multidisciplinary digital therapeutics (DTx) app that integrates exercise and CBT, in comparison with conventional treatments for PFP management.