Clinical Research Directory

Assessing the Effects of Cool Roofs on Indoor Environments and Health in Colima, Mexico

Ambient air temperatures in Mexico have broken record highs in 2024. Solutions are needed to build heat resilience in communities and adapt to increasing heat from climate change. Sunlight-reflecting cool roof coatings may passively reduce indoor temperatures and energy use to protect home occupants from extreme heat. Occupants living in poor housing conditions in the northern zone of Mexico are susceptible to increased heat exposure. Heat exposure can instigate and worsen numerous physical, mental and social health conditions. The worst adverse health effects are experienced in communities that are least able to adapt to heat exposure. By reducing indoor temperatures, cool roof use can promote physical, mental and social wellbeing in household occupants. The long-term research goal of the investigators is to identify viable passive housing adaptation technologies with proven health benefits to reduce the burden of heat stress in communities affected by heat in Mexico. To meet this goal, the investigators will conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial to establish the effects of cool roof use on health, indoor environment and economic outcomes in Colima, Mexico.

Assessing the Effects of Cool Roofs on Indoor Environments and Health

Ambient air temperatures in Asian, Latin American, African, and Pacific climate hotspots have broken record highs in 2024, driven by man-made climate change. Solutions are needed to reduce heat exposure in communities. Sunlight-reflecting cool roof coatings passively reduce indoor temperatures and energy use to protect home occupants from extreme heat. Occupants living in poor housing conditions globally - for example in informal settlements, slums, and low-socioeconomic households - are especially vulnerable to increased indoor heat exposure. Heat exposure can instigate and worsen numerous physical, mental and social health conditions. The worst adverse health effects are being experienced in communities least able to adapt to heat exposure. By reducing indoor temperatures, cool roof use can promote physical, mental and social wellbeing in occupants. The long-term research goal is to identify viable passive housing adaptation technologies with proven health and environmental benefits to reduce the burden of heat stress in communities affected by heat globally. To meet this goal, the investigators will conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial to establish the effects of cool roof use on health, indoor environment and economic outcomes in five urban climate hotspots: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Colima, Mexico; Ahmedabad, India; Niue; and Tavua, Fiji.

Evaluation of a Single-lead ECG Patch-based Telemetry System for In-hospital Monitoring

"This investigator-initiated, prospective, single-center clinical study evaluates the performance and clinical utility of a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) patch-based telemetry system for hospitalized patients who require in-hospital telemetry ECG monitoring. The system integrates real-time centralized surveillance (MEMO-Cue) with post-hoc analytic review (MEMO-Care) using ECG signals recorded by the MEMO Patch M, aiming to enable timely recognition of clinically important arrhythmias and to inform treatment decisions under routine inpatient conditions. Adults (≥19 years) indicated for continuous ECG monitoring during admission are enrolled after written informed consent, with a planned sample size of 100 to yield approximately 90 evaluable participants (10% anticipated dropout). The design does not include randomization or blinding. Study procedures include a screening visit (eligibility and baseline data), an inpatient monitoring period of at least 12 hours and up to 8 days with simultaneous MEMO-Cue monitoring and MEMO Patch M recording, and an end-of-visit assessment when MEMO-Care analytic results become available. Concomitant therapies deemed clinically necessary are permitted and documented, and adverse events are prospectively assessed. Clinical utility endpoints quantify care impact and timeliness: (1) rate of treatment plan changes (e.g., initiation or modification of anticoagulants or antiarrhythmic drugs, cardioversion scheduling, device implantation, or other actions); (2) time to recognition (days) of major arrhythmias-atrial fibrillation (AF), ventricular tachycardia (VT), pause, ventricular premature complex (VPC), and supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)-based on MEMO-Cue alarms or MEMO-Care results with objective confirmation; (3) reduction ratio in recognition time when identified earlier by MEMO-Cue versus MEMO-Care; and (4) proportion of participants with shortened recognition time by MEMO-Cue. Clinical performance endpoints assess detection characteristics and agreement between MEMO-Cue alarms and MEMO-Care findings: (1) clinical sensitivity (true positive / \[true positive + false negative\]); (2) precision, i.e., positive predictive value (true positive / \[true positive + false positive\]); and (3) positive concordance rate (proportion of MEMO-Care-detected arrhythmias alerted by MEMO-Cue). Safety is captured as treatment-emergent adverse events after device application, including device-related skin reactions, detachment, or signal dropouts, with severity graded per NCI-CTCAE v5.0 and relationship to device recorded. By characterizing real-time patch-based telemetry alongside analytic review and its influence on diagnostic timing and management, the study aims to generate practical evidence supporting feasibility, reliability, and workflow compatibility of single-lead patch telemetry for in-hospital ECG monitoring.

New Approaches for Evaluating the Interchangeability of Reference Materials and Quality Controls (COMET-MPL)

Medical biology tests are essential to clinical decision-making. The European Regulation on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (EU/2017/746) requires metrological traceability of the values assigned to calibrators and quality controls, based on reference measurement methods (RMMs) or certified reference materials (CRMs). However, these references are not available for all analyses, limiting manufacturers' ability to comply with regulatory requirements. The dissemination of traceability relies mainly on CRMs. However, to guarantee the validity of the results, these materials must have sufficient commutability, i.e., behavior comparable to that of native biological samples. This property is also required for external quality controls (EQA) used in external quality control programs. Commutability is an essential condition for avoiding matrix effects and ensuring the reliability of results. The COMET-MPL project aims to optimize manufacturing processes for commutable, single-parameter, or multi-parameter CRMs and EQA. Evaluate the commutability of these materials in relation to patient samples. The COMET-MPL project aims to Produce materials suitable for priority analyses: bilirubin, cyclosporine, parathyroid hormone (PTH), human cytomegalovirus, estradiol. Commutability will be verified by comparing the performance of CRMs and EQA with that of clinical samples in several French laboratories equipped with automated systems from different manufacturers.

Vital Signs Reduction Study

Overnight vital signs are typically done every four hours on pediatric acute care units, despite limited evidence supporting the efficacy of this practice. Additionally, vital signs are often ordered and collected without considering the patient's clinical status or the potential impact that they may have on sleep. The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of forgone overnight vital signs on sleep quality and duration among children hospitalized in medical-surgical units, compared with children who receive standard of care vital signs.

Detection of Risk Behaviors: Pilot Observational Study With Bedridden and Agitated Patients.

There is a risk of falls and injuries in bedridden hospitalized patients, increased in agitated or confused patients. In neurosurgery departments, brain damaged patients can present a loss of consciousness of risky behaviors and be in a state of agitation which frequently leads to their endangerment. The repercussions of this endangerment are multiple. For the patients, there may be a feeling of insecurity, with physical or chemical restraint solutions which deprive them of their freedom without a total guarantee of safety. For the caregivers, there is an emotional distress in front of this endangerment, and a professional guilt. Finally, there are economic repercussions due to the costs of complementary examinations and the lengthening of hospitalization. The objective of the present study is to determine the nature and frequency of occurrence of risk behaviours, through the observation of bedridden and agitated hospitalized patients. These risk behaviours are defined as potentially dangerous and are warning signs for the caregiver. A better understanding of these behaviours could help to better anticipate falls and injuries and to implement preventive measures more quickly.

Impact of Patient Selected Visual Art in the Hospital Room During Antepartum Admission on Hospital Satisfaction Scores and Patient Experience

The purpose of this study is to assess whether patient-selected visual art for patients admitted to the antepartum unit will increase hospital satisfaction compared to routine care.

The Preventing Functional Decline in Acutely Hospitalized Older Patients (PREV_FUNC) Study

This study aims to examine 1) if multicomponent exercise interventions (including both mobility and strengthening exercises) have effects on physical function compared to usual care in older adults, and 2) if a comprehensive multicomponent exercise program is more effective than a simple multicomponent exercise program including only walking and rising from a chair.

Virtual Reality Music in Geriatric Inpatients

Older adults, especially those in acute care require accessible non-pharmacological interventions, such as music to improve their mental health. Immersive 360 virtual reality (VR), is an innovative technology that has been found to be feasible, safe, and enjoyable by older adults. However, VR based music intervention to improve older adults' mental health has not been studied in acute in-patient settings.

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in Primary Care: Potentially Avoidable Hospitalization

The World Health Organization supports collaborative practice in primary care, defining it as "when multiple health professionals from different professional backgrounds work together with patients, families, carers and communities to deliver the highest quality of care across settings" (1). Previous research have shown that collaborative practice in primary care improves care pathways, efficiency of care (2,3), job satisfaction among health professionals (4-6), and economic efficiency (3,7). Riverin et al. found a reduction in post-hospitalization mortality with collaborative practice (8). In France, the establishment of primary care teams following the American model of Centered Medical Homes is encouraged. In the Pays de la Loire region, two models exist: A national and a regional model. A major issue for patient care team is the care of seniors (9,10).Hospitalizations can have adverse health effects for this population (11,12). 45% of emergency admissions follow by a hospitalization concern them (13). The hypothesis of the study is that collaborative practice could reduce the global rate of potential avoidable hospitalizations among seniors.