Journal of Medical Internet Research

The human-horse bond has played a role in human development throughout history and has more recently been applied to mental health promotion through equine-assisted learning (EAL) programs. In EAL settings, therapeutic documentation and assessment commonly rely on practitioner observations documented through behavioral checklists, structured interviews, and progress notes, which can pose challenges due to time demands, subjectivity, and inconsistent standardization across practitioners and contexts.

Parkinson disease (PD) impairs mobility and motor function, making accurate mobility assessment important for effective management and treatment planning. Traditional clinical assessments often rely on periodic clinical evaluations, which may not capture day-to-day symptom fluctuations. Wearable devices offer a promising alternative with continuous, objective tracking of mobility (eg, gait). However, although these tools provide valuable insights for patients and clinicians, their successful implementation depends on their acceptability to users.

Parental involvement in obesity interventions is considered essential for sustainable behavior change in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity; yet, the effectiveness of parent-involved digital health interventions (DHIs) and the influence of different delivery modalities remain unclear.

Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly being used for text-based emotional support. However, general-purpose LLMs may not consistently recognize emotional cues, adapt supportive strategies to contexts, or generate responses aligned with psychologically informed communication. The limited availability of large-scale, structured Chinese counseling data further constrains the development of models for context-sensitive emotional support.

AI is a broad field encompassing various techniques, which include algorithms that learn from data to perform automated tasks without explicit human programming. Public health aims to protect and improve the health of communities and populations at the local, regional, national, and global levels, but it typically has limited resources. While AI may lead to improved efficiency or effectiveness of public health interventions, the adoption of AI interventions should be informed by evidence of effective use in practice.

Addressing the burnout epidemic among health care providers remains one of the foremost challenges of modern health care systems. Past researchers have turned to passively gathered biometric data from wearable devices to identify key variables that predict burnout. However, this has resulted in limited success.

Digital health interventions, including mobile health apps, increasingly complement outpatient mental health care. In Germany, certified digital health applications (DiGA [Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen]) can be prescribed and reimbursed in the statutory health care system. However, real-world evidence on patient-reported use of DiGA for mental disorders remains limited.

Digital health technologies are transforming health care by improving access, efficiency, and quality of care. However, recent studies highlight that digitalization can unintentionally reinforce or deepen existing social and health inequalities, as not all population groups benefit equally from digital progress. The concept of digital determinants of health (DDoH) has emerged to better capture how digital factors shape health opportunities and outcomes. The systematic incorporation of DDoH and other health determinants shaped by digitalization into strategic planning remains limited. As a result, health systems may lack structured approaches to identify them and anticipate their equity implications.

AI-enabled patient profiling has been proposed to organize heterogeneous patient data and support personalized nursing care and health support. Given the growing use of AI, machine learning, large language models (LLMs), digital phenotyping, and digital twins in health care, it is important to clarify how patient profiling has been conceptualized, applied, and evaluated in nursing-relevant contexts.

Emerging evidence indicates that immersive virtual reality can be used therapeutically and has demonstrated efficacy in promoting the mental health of older adults. Nevertheless, there remains a paucity of qualitative research examining the specific experiences underpinning these benefits.

Medication nonadherence remains a major global health challenge, contributing to preventable disease, hospitalizations, and health care costs. Mobile health (mHealth) apps incorporating gamification and financial incentives have shown potential to improve adherence; however, most research has focused on patient perspectives, with limited understanding of how nonpatient stakeholders perceive their feasibility, risks, and implementation. Understanding nonpatient stakeholder perspectives in relation to patient viewpoints is essential for informing future policy development and establishing practical, industry-supported safeguards that protect consumers while enabling innovation.