Dulce Digital-Me: results of a randomized comparative trial of static versus adaptive digital interventions for Latine adults with diabetes.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of a static, text-based diabetes education and support intervention (Dulce Digital, DD) versus a dynamic approach with personalized feedback and goal setting (Dulce Digital-Me, DD-Me) in improving diabetes outcomes.

Design And Methods: Comparative effectiveness trial in 310 Latine adults with poorly managed type 2 diabetes in a Federally Qualified Health Center in Southern California, randomized to DD, DD-Me-Auto (algorithm-driven text-based personalized feedback), or DD-Me-Tel (coach delivered personalized feedback). Changes in HbA1c (primary outcome), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, and patient-reported outcomes were examined across 6 and 12 months, with the primary comparison being DD versus DD-Me (combined automated and telephonic).

Assessing the effects of Enhanced Multicomponent Proactive Navigator-Assisted Cessation of Tobacco Use within a federally qualified health center (EMPACT-Us): a protocol study.

Background: California's relatively low smoking rate (10.1% in 2019-2020) (About CHIS, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 2024) masks deep disparities among low-income populations, where smoking rates are nearly double that of their middle- to upper-income peers. Low-income smokers report a similar desire to quit and similar rates of recent quit attempts as smokers from other groups; yet, they often face barriers in accessing effective resources to facilitate successful cessation.

Effect of communicating genetic risk of type 2 diabetes and wearable technologies on wearable device-measured behavioural outcomes in East Asians: protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: The communication of information about the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) alone has not been associated with changes in habitual behaviours among individuals of European ancestry. In contrast, the use of wearable devices that monitor physical activity (PA) has been associated with behavioural changes in some studies. It is uncertain whether risk communication might enhance the effects of wearable devices.

Motion Tape Strain During Trunk Muscle Engagement in Young, Healthy Participants.

Background: Motion Tape (MT) is a low-profile, disposable, self-adhesive wearable sensor that measures skin strain. Preliminary studies have validated MT for measuring lower back movement. However, further analysis is needed to determine if MT can be used to measure lower back muscle engagement.

Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Sleep, but not Physical Activity, are Associated with Functional Connectivity in Older Adults.

Background: Aging results in changes in resting state functional connectivity within key networks associated with cognition. Cardiovascular function, physical activity, sleep, and body composition may influence these age-related changes in the brain. Better understanding these associations may help clarify mechanisms related to brain aging and guide interventional strategies to reduce these changes.

Randomized controlled trial of a multiple technology-based physical activity intervention for Latina adolescents: Recruitment strategies and baseline data from the Chicas Fuertes trial.

Background: Latina adolescents report low levels of physical activity (PA) and high lifetime risk of lifestyle-related diseases. They also have high rates of using technology, suggesting interventions delivered through mobile devices may be effective for this population. The current paper describes recruitment methods and baseline study characteristics for Chicas Fuertes, a fully powered randomized trial of a mobile technology PA intervention.

Preliminary Validity and Acceptability of Motion Tape for Measuring Low Back Movement: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a significant public health problem that can result in physical disability and financial burden for the individual and society. Physical therapy is effective for managing LBP and includes evaluation of posture and movement, interventions directed at modifying posture and movement, and prescription of exercises. However, physical therapists have limited tools for objective evaluation of low back posture and movement and monitoring of exercises, and this evaluation is limited to the time frame of a clinical encounter.

Physical Therapists' Acceptance of a Wearable, Fabric-Based Sensor System (Motion Tape) for Use in Clinical Practice: Qualitative Focus Group Study.

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a costly global health condition that affects individuals of all ages and genders. Physical therapy (PT) is a commonly used and effective intervention for the management of LBP and incorporates movement assessment and therapeutic exercise. A newly developed wearable, fabric-based sensor system, Motion Tape, uses novel sensing and data modeling to measure lumbar spine movements unobtrusively and thus offers potential benefits when used in conjunction with PT.

The core functions and forms paradigm throughout EPIS: designing and implementing an evidence-based practice with function fidelity.

There are numerous frameworks for implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) in novel settings to achieve "fidelity." However, identifying appropriate referents for fidelity poses a challenge. The Core Functions and Forms paradigm offers a model that can inform adaptation decisions throughout all phases of the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework.

Does a simplified algorithm and integrated HCV care model improve linkage to care, retention, and cure among people who inject drugs? A pragmatic quality improvement randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: As many as 2.4 million Americans are affected by chronic Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) in the United States.In 2018, the estimated number of adults with a history of HCV infection in San Diego County was 55,354 (95% CI: 25,411-93,329).

Fatness but Not Fitness Linked to BrainAge: Longitudinal Changes in Brain Aging during an Exercise Intervention.

Purpose: Fitness, physical activity, body composition, and sleep have all been proposed to explain differences in brain health. We hypothesized that an exercise intervention would result in improved fitness and body composition and would be associated with improved structural brain health.

Methods: In a randomized controlled trial, we studied 485 older adults who engaged in an exercise intervention ( n = 225) or a nonexercise comparison condition ( n = 260).

Barriers and facilitators to self-measured blood pressure monitoring among US-resettled Arab refugees with hypertension: a qualitative study.

Background: Minoritized communities including refugees are at an increased risk of poorly controlled hypertension. Evidence indicates that self-measured blood pressure monitoring (SMBP) is an effective method to improve blood pressure control in patients with hypertension. However, it has not been studied among refugee populations.

Effects of an mHealth physical activity intervention to prevent osteoporosis in premenopausal women. A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: It is critical to develop prevention strategies for osteoporosis that reduce the burden fractures place on individuals and health systems. This study evaluated the effects of an mHealth intervention that delivered and monitored a non-supervised exercise program on bone mineral density (BMD).

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Impact of United States refugee ban and discrimination on the mental health of hypertensive Arabic-speaking refugees.

Background: Hypertension is a global leading cause of death which disproportionately affects refugees. This chronic disease increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, brain, and other end-organ disease, if left uncontrolled. The 2017 United States travel or "Muslim" ban prevented immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, including Syria and Iraq; two major contributors to the global refugee population.

Refugee Telehealth Utilization for Hypertension Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic limited refugees' access to healthcare. Increased use of telehealth could enable continuity of care but also create barriers to chronic disease management. This study explores refugees' experience with telehealth and hypertension management during the pandemic.

A technology-enabled multi-disciplinary team-based care model for the management of Long COVID and other fatiguing illnesses within a federally qualified health center: protocol for a two-arm, single-blind, pragmatic, quality improvement professional cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: The clinical burden of Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and other post-infectious fatiguing illnesses (PIFI) is increasing. There is a critical need to advance understanding of the effectiveness and sustainability of innovative approaches to clinical care of patients having these conditions.

Methods: We aim to assess the effectiveness of a Long COVID and Fatiguing Illness Recovery Program (LC&FIRP) in a two-arm, single-blind, pragmatic, quality improvement, professional cluster, randomized controlled trial in which 20 consenting clinicians across primary care clinics in a Federally Qualified Health Center system in San Diego, CA, will be randomized at a ratio of 1:1 to either participate in (1) weekly multi-disciplinary team-based case consultation and peer-to-peer sharing of emerging best practices (i.

Digitally Based Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring Program That Promotes Hypertension Self-Management and Health Education Among Patients With Low-Income: Usability Study.

Background: According to evidence-based clinical guidelines, adults with hypertension are advised to self-monitor their blood pressure (BP) twice daily. Self-measured BP monitoring is a recommended strategy for improving hypertension management.

Objective: We aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a digitally based BP self-monitoring program that promotes hypertension self-management and health education among low-income patients.

Protocol for a Parallel Group Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing a Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavioral Telerehabilitation Intervention to Usual Physical Therapy for Latino Patients With Chronic Spine Pain.

Objective: Disparities exist in health care access, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic pain in Latino populations and other minority populations. Cognitive behavioral-based physical therapy (CBPT) interventions have been shown to be effective in predominantly non-Hispanic white populations with chronic spine pain. However, there is a need for culturally adapted CBPT interventions that focus on the conservative management of chronic spine pain.

Identifying the behavior change techniques used in obesity interventions: An example from the EARLY trials.

Objective: The dissemination of effective obesity interventions requires the documentation of key elements of the intervention. But outcome papers and other published manuscripts often lack detail that allow the replication of the intervention. The Behavior Change Technique (BCT) Taxonomy (BCTTv1) is a widely used approach to identify key elements of an intervention study.

Process evaluation of Dulce Digital-Me: an adaptive mobile health (mHealth) intervention for underserved Hispanics with diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes disproportionately impacts ethnic minorities and individuals from low socioeconomic status. Diabetes self-management education and support has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in these populations, and mobile health (mHealth) interventions can reduce barriers to access. Dulce Digital-Me (DD-Me) was developed to integrate adaptive mHealth technologies to enhance self-management and reduce disparities in the high-risk, underserved Hispanic population.

COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatment impact on symptoms and post-COVID conditions among high-risk patients at a Federally Qualified Health Center.

Background: Monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment for COVID-19 is associated with improved clinical outcomes. However, there is limited information regarding the impact of treatment on symptoms and the prevalence of post-COVID Conditions (PCC). Understanding of the association between time to mAb infusion and the development of PCC is also limited.

Fatness, fitness and the aging brain: A cross sectional study of the associations between a physiological estimate of brain age and physical fitness, activity, sleep, and body composition.

Introduction: Changes in brain structure and function occur with aging. However, there is substantial heterogeneity both in terms of when these changes begin, and the rate at which they progress. Understanding the mechanisms and/or behaviors underlying this heterogeneity may allow us to act to target and slow negative changes associated with aging.

Recommendations for Identifying Valid Wear for Consumer-Level Wrist-Worn Activity Trackers and Acceptability of Extended Device Deployment in Children.

Background: Self-reported physical activity is often inaccurate. Wearable devices utilizing multiple sensors are now widespread. The aim of this study was to determine acceptability of Fitbit Charge HR for children and their families, and to determine best practices for processing its objective data.

Accuracy and Precision of Energy Expenditure, Heart Rate, and Steps Measured by Combined-Sensing Fitbits Against Reference Measures: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Although it is widely recognized that physical activity is an important determinant of health, assessing this complex behavior is a considerable challenge.

Objective: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to examine, quantify, and report the current state of evidence for the validity of energy expenditure, heart rate, and steps measured by recent combined-sensing Fitbits.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and Bland-Altman meta-analysis of validation studies of combined-sensing Fitbits against reference measures of energy expenditure, heart rate, and steps.