Clinical Research Directory

Oral Health Education for Older Adults: Intentionality in Action

After obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), the clinical trial will be registered on a designated trial registration website. Participant recruitment will be conducted online. For individuals who meet the inclusion criteria and express interest, the principal investigator will verbally explain the study protocol, go over the informed consent form, and answer any related questions. Potential participants who meet the inclusion criteria and are willing to participate will be given time to consider their involvement in the study. Inclusion criteria for this study are: 1. Adults aged 40 and older 2. Ability to hear, speak, and read Chinese, and communicate fluently in Mandarin or Taiwanese. Exclusion criteria include: 1. Being completely edentulous and not using dentures; 2. Having severe food allergies, renal failure, or dysphagia; 3. Being diagnosed with terminal illness under palliative care, severe mental illness, or cognitive impairment; 4. Having a serious health condition that prevents standing or performing oral self-care behaviors. Upon receiving verbal agreement from potential participants, the study procedure and the contents of the consent form will be explained again. This is a parallel randomized experimental study, with an estimated sample of 90 middle-aged and older adults recruited from the community through online means. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1. intentional interviews combined with expressive arts activities, 2. expressive arts activities only, or 3. control group. All three groups will receive oral health education before the intervention and six weeks after the intervention. Questionnaire surveys will be conducted one week and one month post-education to collect data on sarcopenia risk, eating assessment, grit, oral health literacy, and oral self-care behaviors. Statistical analyses will be performed on the collected data. Participants who fully understand the study and agree to participate will sign an informed consent form. Two copies of the consent form will be prepared-one will be kept by the principal investigator, and a photocopy will be given to the participant for personal recordkeeping. Participants retain the right to decline or withdraw from the study at any time, even after signing the consent form. Their withdrawal will not affect their future rights, benefits, or services, and any previously collected data will be deleted upon request.

Peanut Butter and Brain Health

Healthy foods, including peanuts, may improve brain function, which is essential for cognitive and metabolic health, and may contribute to improved food intake regulation. It is therefore important to investigate the specific effects of peanut butter on cerebral blood flow responses, as well as the potential associated functional benefits. The researchers hypothesize that long-term peanut butter consumption improves vascular function in the brain, thereby enhancing cognitive performance and appetite control in middle aged and older adults. Objective: The primary objectives are to investigate in middle aged and older men and women the effect of 16-week peanut butter consumption on brain vascular function, while we will also assess changes in cognitive performance and appetite-related brain reward activity (secondary objectives). Cerebral blood flow responses (brain vascular function) will be non-invasively quantified by the non-invasive gold standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-perfusion method Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL).Study design: This intervention study will have a randomized, controlled, cross-over design. The total study duration will be 40 weeks, including two 16-week interventions, separated by a washout period of at least 8 weeks. Study population: Forty-five middle-aged and older men and women (aged 45-75 years) without a history of cardiovascular diseases or complaints will participate. This population is expected to have a decreased cerebral blood flow at baseline and are also at increased risk of cognitive impairment, allowing for improvement by the intervention. Intervention: Study participants will receive, in random order, 45 g of peanut butter daily (peanut intervention) or no peanut butter (control) for a total of 16 weeks, separated by a wash-out period of at least 8 weeks. Main study parameters/endpoints: At baseline, first anthropometric measurements will be performed and blood pressure will be determined. In addition, a fasting blood sample will be drawn. Another fasting blood sample will be drawn at eight weeks, while participants have to attend the research facilities to perform follow-up measurements after sixteen weeks. The primary endpoint is the difference at follow-up in the cerebral blood flow response between peanut butter intervention and control periods. Cognitive performance will be assessed, while the researchers will also focus on appetite-related brain reward activity (secondary outcomes).

Smart Nursing AI Agent for Health Self-Management

This study aims to develop and evaluate a smart nursing AI agent to support health self-management among middle-aged and older patients, and further to examine its effectiveness in home care and health self-management. The goal is to propose innovative strategies for middle-aged and older care that enhance the quality of home care and strengthen patients' health self-management abilities. A randomized controlled trial design will be adopted, with a planned enrollment of 102 participants. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. Regardless of group assignment, their routine medical care will remain unchanged. Both groups will participate in the study for 12 weeks (8 weeks of intervention and 4 weeks of follow-up), with identical frequency and number of follow-ups, interviews, and evaluations. The experimental group will receive an 8 week intervention using the smart nursing AI agent care model, which provides daily interaction, reminder systems, personalized recommendations, activity monitoring, goal setting, motivational support, and health self-management education. The control group will continue with the existing standard health education approach. Data collection will include demographic information, medical history, physiological indicators, functional activity measures (e.g., steps, distance, exercise duration), sarcopenia screening, nutritional assessment, physical activity levels, health self-management ability, health literacy, quality of life, and digital usage behaviors. Statistical analyses will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of the intervention.