Volume 15, Issue 1, January 2025

The effectiveness of AI-informed health care is limited by the quality and diversity of training datasets, which are often biased, incomplete, and unrepresentative, resulting in predictions that exacerbate existing health disparities. This commentary highlights the importance of inclusive data practices, community engagement, and the adoption of innovative strategies throughout the research continuum to advance equity in AI applications in medicine and health care.

A novel lung cancer screening decision aid (LuCaS CHOICES) was acceptable to screening candidates and a feasible approach to supporting preference-concordant decision making about participating in lung cancer screening.

Stakeholder feedback was effectively solicited, analyzed, and applied to refine a behavioral sleep/circadian intervention for survivors of gynecologic cancers as part of the multiphase optimization strategy preparation phase.

A multimethods process evaluation to assess the multidimensional fidelity of four intervention components aimed at supporting medication adherence in women with breast cancer.

To bolster self-compassion and reduce stigma for lung cancer patients, perspectives from adults diagnosed with lung cancer, psycho-oncology researchers, expert mindfulness teachers, and oncology clinicians were systematically collected and integrated to inform the development of an adapted intervention program called mindful self-compassion for lung cancer (MSC-LC).

We developed a feasible and acceptable multilevel approach aimed at increasing lung cancer screening among African Americans in the primary care setting.

A case study of developing a conceptual model of digital cardiac rehabilitation as part of the preparation phase of the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST).

Lifestyle interventions to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes involving increasing and maintaining physical activity goals or reducing sedentary behavior improve health-related quality of life.

Individual and clinical factors were associated with patient acceptance of referrals to social services and community resources at a large safety-net health system that utilizes a bi-directional communication and referral system and a community resource hub on-campus that coordinates these clinical-community linkages. Study results are currently being used to help inform refinements to system-level interventions that can increase patient acceptance of these referrals as a way to facilitate and improve patient-centered care.

Community health programs in barbershops can be more effective by focusing on accessibility, cultural sensitivity, and community engagement. Our study identifies key strategies to improve the success of these health promotion efforts for Black men.

Modules co-created with community-based organizations improved kinesiologists’ capability, opportunity, motivation, and skills to support persons with physical disabilities in adapted physical activity programmes.

A program designed to provide healthy fruits and vegetables to communities with limited access to healthy food was successfully implemented through an academic-community partnership.

Implementation science can enhance research conducted using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) framework.

Increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment requires an interdisciplinary implementation team that includes perspectives from all stakeholders.

This group concept mapping study draws on the expertise of 34 community-based organizations (CBO) practitioners and 30 academics addressing cervical cancer inequities to explore important differences in conceptualizing core skills needed to implement evidence-based interventions. Convergence and divergence between group-specific skills maps suggest that capacity-building interventions must integrate differing perspectives held by practitioners and academics.

Oncology care teams found the Automated Heart-Health Assessment tool easy to use and valuable for discussing cardiovascular health with cancer survivors, potentially enhancing patient care. Lack of time and workflow challenges were common barriers to using the AH-HA tool in clinical practice, highlighting the need for strategies to integrate similar digital health tools seamlessly into care settings. Lessons learned from studying the AH-HA tool can inform the development and implementation of other digital health tools across various clinical settings, ultimately improving patient care.

We developed a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer plus commercial network system to disseminate free oral HIV self-test kits to customers over a 6-month intervention window, wherein we distributed 2698 kits. Using a formative quasi-experimental design, we found that test kit dissemination varied significantly with the intensity of the promotional effort, and the promotional effort was successful in significantly increasing customer awareness of the intervention.

This article focuses on advocating for the EAT Local Foods Act—a bill to promote economic opportunities for farmers and ranchers to strengthen local food supply chains while increasing access to nutritious foods among households experiencing food insecurity and chronic disease risk.

Among United Methodist clergy who face many stressors, a distance-learning version of mindfulness-based stress reduction improved both physiological and psychological correlates of stress, whereas two brief and easily implemented practices—a prayer practice and, separately, a combination of stress inoculation and breathing exercises—improved psychological correlates of stress.

Multidisciplinary clinicians suggest that meaning-centered psychotherapy may be an effective intervention to alleviate healthcare provider work-induced distress and bolster their wellbeing.

Influences on scale-up and definitions of scale-up ‘success’ that include scaling inputs, outputs, outcomes, and context.

Group dynamics in pursuit of cohesiveness are a pivotal part in creating health behaviour change. Working within groups or communities with similar interests (such as hockey fans) could be a strong foundation for creating and maintaining behaviour change.

A facilitator-supported, tailored implementation model allowed for co-creation of goals to improve implementation of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) and medication-assisted treatment for alcohol use disorder (MAUD) in primary care settings.

A known, effective preventative intervention to improve sleep hygiene in young adults was adapted to be delivered individually or in the presence of a companion to young adults with poor sleep in a pilot RCT. Results provide evidence of feasibility and acceptability for a larger study, in addition to preliminary efficacy pre–post intervention for all participants. We did not find differences between those with and without companions.

Strategies that target a wide range of barriers may be most effective in supporting the sustainment of health programmes.

Both education and motivational counseling are equally effective for improving vaccine uptake, but the strength of the effect for education was weak. The strength of the effect for motivational approaches was uncertain due to the paucity of research, suggesting the need for more research in this area.

This paper reports on technology’s role in advancing behavioral health integration (BHI) per the Continuum-based Framework of BHI published in Translational Behavioral Medicine (2020). It provides guidance at the practice and policy levels regarding how technology can be applied to accomplish BHI at scale.

Health behavior promotion strategies in childcare should prioritize digital health modalities and using existing evidence-based curriculum.

Individuals with binge eating and obesity are interested in using predictions from an app to help them lower their binge eating but want these predictions to be encouraging and presented in a way they can understand easily.

Despite the promise of digital health solutions, adoption remains uneven, particularly among vulnerable communities. This study identifies key barriers and strategies to improve equitable access and engagement in multicultural populations.

We conducted a systematic review on behavioral interventions using Artificial Intelligence-Mediated Communication in the contexts of cancer prevention/control and substance use.