Clinical Research Directory

A Text Messaging Trial to Test Vaping Health Messages Optimized to Young Adults' Vaping Status

The goal of this study is to examine if e-cigarette education messages delivered using a source and presentation tailored to one's vaping status influences young adults' vaping behaviors. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does receiving e-cigarette education messages presented using a source (expert or peer) and sidedness (one or two-sided) optimized for the current vaper group influence vaping cessation among young adults who vape daily? 2. Does receiving e-cigarette education messages presented using a source (expert or peer) and sidedness (one or two-sided) optimized for the non-vaper group influence vaping initiation among young adults who are susceptible to vaping? Participants will be randomly assigned to either the treatment (receiving messages tailored to one's vaping status) or the control (receiving non-tobacco messages) condition and receive SMS three times per week over the course of 6 months. They will complete self-report assessment and show salivary cotinine results for nicotine testing at 4 timepoints.

VR for Hope: A Brief VR Self-help Protocol to Enhance Hope and Well-being in Young Adults

The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a brief self-help protocol based on immersive Virtual Reality (VR) to promote hope and psychological well-being in young adults while enhancing their mentalization capacity. The intervention consists of five sessions. The first session will be conducted in person and features an immersive VR experience, while the subsequent sessions will be delivered in a self-help format via audio and video materials. The intervention is designed to guide participants through personal reflection on key aspects of individual experience, such as hope and the understanding of one's own and others' mental states. Participants will complete self-report questionnaires before (T0) and after (T1) the intervention to assess levels of hope, psychological well-being, and mentalization capacity.

A Reinforced Mindfulness-Based Intervention to Reduce Problematic Drinking Among Hispanic Emerging Adults

This study is a trial to evaluate a mindfulness program designed for Hispanic young adults. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: (1) an in-person, 8-week mindfulness program (one 1.5-hour session per week at FIU's MMC campus), or (2) an assessment-only control group. Regardless of group assignment. Participants will be asked to complete online surveys at baseline, after an 8-week period, and again one month later. They will also be asked to provide a fingerpick blood sample and have their heart rate and blood pressure measured at four timepoints: baseline, 1 month, 2 months, and 3 months after baseline. Participation will involve up to 16 hours over approximately 14 weeks. This includes time for completing baseline assessments, participating in the 8-week intervention (if assigned), and completing post-program and follow-up assessments. There are no serious risks of participating in this study, but some of the questions during the assessments, interview, or the fingerpick may cause you discomfort. The main benefit from participating in this clinical trial is that participants may experience personal benefits from learning mindfulness techniques.

Theory-based Social Media Intervention for Non-medical Use of Prescription Opioids in Young Adults

Brief Summary The purposes of this study are to develop and implement a peer-led intervention program on Instagram for promoting prescription opioid use management and fostering psychosocial skills among young adults who engage in non-medical use of prescription opioids in the United State. The specific aims of the study include: (1) To implement and test the feasibility of the 12-week peer-led intervention modules on Instagram among young adults who are randomly assigned to either receive the intervention (intervention group) or not receive the intervention (control group) Participants who are assigned to the intervention group will be paired with a peer leader and attend to peer-guided interactive modules on Instagram over 12 weeks. They will complete an online survey at 1st week and 12th week, as well as brief evening surveys every two days during the intervention. The control group will not take part in intervention activities but will complete an online survey at 1st week and 12th week.

Grow Together, Thrive Together: A Feasibility Study of a Brief Relationship Intervention for Emerging Adults and Their Caregivers

Background. Emerging adulthood is a period of major change in young people's lives, including increased independence, new responsibilities, and shifting relationships with parents or caregivers. During this time, disagreements between emerging adults and caregivers are common and may become more frequent or emotionally intense. How families manage these disagreements may affect relationship quality and emotional well-being for both emerging adults and caregivers. However, there are few brief, accessible programs designed to support emerging adults and caregivers together during this transition. Grow Together, Thrive Together (G2T2) is a brief, online, writing-based relationship program designed for emerging adults and their caregivers. The program encourages participants to reflect on disagreements using a neutral, outside-observer perspective, with the goal of helping families approach conflict in healthier ways. G2T2 is designed to be low-intensity, self-directed, and accessible, and can be completed remotely using secure online platforms. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the G2T2 program and study procedures, rather than to test effectiveness. This feasibility clinical trial will examine whether emerging adult-caregiver dyads can be successfully recruited and retained, whether participants complete the writing sessions as planned, and whether participants find the program acceptable, easy to use, and understandable. The study will also explore whether participants report using the conflict reappraisal strategy outside of the writing sessions and examine changes in relationship and conflict-related outcomes before and after the program to inform future research. Participants will take part as emerging adult-caregiver pairs. Each participant will complete an online baseline survey, three brief online writing sessions completed over approximately nine weeks, and a follow-up survey one week after the final session. Each writing session includes brief questions about recent disagreements, a short instructional video, brief questions to check understanding of the strategy, and guided writing exercises focused on reflecting on disagreements and planning how to use the strategy in future interactions. All activities are completed independently and online. Findings from this study will be used to refine the G2T2 program and study procedures and to inform the design of a future, larger randomized controlled trial.

Reliability and Validity of Tele-Assessment for Functional Performance in Older vs. Younger Adults

This cross-sectional, comparative study aims to examine the intra-rater reliability, validity, and feasibility of tele-assessment versions of three functional mobility tests-the Timed Up and Go (TUG), 30-second Sit-to-Stand (30sSTS), and Gait Speed Test (GST)-in community-dwelling older adults (≥65 years). To provide a comparative perspective, the same assessments will also be administered to a younger, healthy control group (18-44 years). The study seeks to determine whether tele-assessment can serve as a robust and practical alternative to in-person testing, thereby enhancing accessibility and ensuring high-quality functional evaluation in geriatric populations.

Clinical Features and Long-Term Prognosis in Young Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

The incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in young patients is on the rise, placing a heavy health and economic burden on individuals, families, and society. The clinical phenotype and pathophysiological mechanisms of AMI in this population exhibit significant heterogeneity compared to elderly patients, and existing risk assessment tools have limited applicability in this specific group. The core problem this study aims to address is: how to accurately identify specific risk factors in young AMI patients and build an effective risk prediction model to prevent and optimize clinical diagnosis and treatment. This study will adopt a prospective cohort design to collect multi-dimensional clinical data from young AMI patients. It will systematically analyze their clinical characteristics, risk factors, and coronary lesion status to comprehensively map the clinical, risk factor, and pathophysiological diversity of young AMI patients. Secondly, it will delve into identifying specific risk factors that influence the onset, progression, and long-term prognosis of young AMI. Thirdly, it will combine machine learning algorithms to develop a risk prediction model for young AMI, performing internal validation in the prospective cohort and external validation in the MIMIC-IV database. Simultaneously, it will explore novel biomarkers associated with disease onset and progression. The key outcomes of this study are to establish a high-quality clinical database of young AMI patients, design a risk prediction model for young AMI based on the study results, and produce high-level academic publications.

Examining the Circadian Timing Effects of the Hypotensive Response to Exercise

The goal of this study is to learn how exercise timing affects blood pressure in adults with elevated or high blood pressure. Exercise can influence the body's natural 24-hour rhythms, including blood pressure patterns. A single exercise session can lower blood pressure for up to 24 hours, but it is not fully understood how the time-of-day for exercise affects this response. The main question this study aims to answer is: • When the same participant exercises at different times of day (morning, afternoon, or evening), how does this affect the participant's blood pressure over the next 24 hours? Participants will: * Undergo an in-lab assessment of individual biological rhythm that will indicate the clock-time for an individual's biological night * Complete 3 supervised treadmill exercise sessions * 1 in the biological morning (biological night + 10 hours) * 1 in the biological afternoon (biological night + 15 hours) * 1 in the biological evening (biological night + 20 hours) * Complete a 24-hour blood pressure assessment before and after each exercise session

The iPeer2Peer Mentorship Program for Young Adults With Heart Disease

Young adults with heart failure, including those who have undergone a heart transplant, experience considerable psychosocial stressors associated with living with a chronic illness, including heightened levels of anxiety and depression, and poor health-related quality of life compared to 'healthy' peers. Psychosocial challenges during young adulthood are especially concerning as this life stage represents a unique transitional period for fostering self-identity, friendships, mastery, and decision-making competencies. As young people with heart failure transition into adult healthcare systems, they take on greater personal responsibility due to their increasing independence and involvement in care decisions, and require more support and resources to live longer, healthier lives. Peer support provided by a person with a similar experience has been found to improve disease self-management and psychosocial health outcomes in pediatric healthcare. An established, online mentorship program, iPeer2Peer (iP2P), will be employed through a pilot feasibility waitlist randomized controlled trial with repeated measures across five sites. Sixty mentees will be recruited and randomized into intervention and control groups. Thirty mentees in the intervention group will be matched 1:1 with 20 trained mentors. These pairings will connect over 12 weeks through video calls and text messaging to provide peer support to improve self-management and psychosocial health outcomes.

Young Stroke Service Deep Phenotyping: Exploring Recovery in Young Adult Survivors of Stroke

We are running a small, early-phase research study across several hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. The study will involve up to 100 young adults between the ages of 18 and 55 who have had a stroke. Our goal is to test how practical it is to carry out a detailed health assessment process-called "deep phenotyping"-with this group. This process involves collecting a wide range of information and samples from stroke survivors to better understand each participant's condition. We'll look at how well this approach works in practice, including how easy it is to use, whether it's done consistently, and how acceptable it is to participants. At the same time, we'll also explore how different factors-such as biological markers (biomarkers), age, sex, type of stroke, lifestyle, and environment-might be related to stroke recovery. This pilot study will help us prepare for larger studies in the future.

Cortical Excitability and Typing Performance After Action Observation and Motor Execution

Goal: This study will aim to investigate the effects of different motor stimulation strategies-motor execution (ME) and action observation (AO)-on cortical excitability and typing performance in healthy individuals. Recruitment: A total of 60 healthy university students will be recruited and randomly assigned into three groups: Motor Execution group (n=20) Action Observation group (n=20) Control group (n=20) Evaluation Tools: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) using DEYMED DuoMAG XT will be used to measure Resting Motor Threshold (RMT), Motor Evoked Potential (MEP) Amplitude, and MEP Latency of the First Dorsal Interosseous (FDI) muscle. Online Typing Test will be used to assess typing speed (words per minute) and accuracy (percentage of correct characters). Intervention: The ME group will perform a 3-minute typing task. The AO group will observe a 3-minute first-person video of typing. The Control group will not receive any intervention between assessments. All participants will undergo TMS and typing assessments twice, once before and once after the intervention.

The Effects of Mindhelper.dk: a Self-guided Digital Mental Health Promotion Service Targeting Young People

In a two-armed randomized controlled trial 15-25-year-olds will be recruited via social media to evaluate the effectiveness of Mindhelper.dk; a Danish self-guided, digital, mental health service offering information, self-help tools, and guidance to young people. Participants will be randomly allocated to an intervention group (receiving information about Mindhelper.dk) or a control group (no information about Mindhelper.dk). Outcomes, including well-being (WHO5), psychological functioning (SWEMWBS), help-seeking intentions, and body appreciation (2-item BAS-2SF), will be measured at 2-, 6-, and 12-weeks post-randomization and analyzed using the intention-to-treat approach. Qualitative interviews with intervention group participants will provide complementary insights, and a cost-effectiveness analysis will also be conducted.

Walk It Off! the Influence of Physical Activity Level on the Recovery from Damaging Resistance Exercise

After completing novel activity or exercise we may experience exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD), resulting in a period of reduced muscle function and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). DOMS is characterized by muscle pain and tenderness that typically resolves within a week. While the precise cause of DOMS is unknown, there is growing evidence implicating damage to the connective tissue that surrounds our muscle fibers and is related to a small amount of inflammation. This inflammation is a normal part of our body's ability to recovery from injuries and may be visualized through the use of ultrasound technology. A variety of recovery techniques have been proposed that may help with the recovery of DOMS such as massage and electrical muscle stimulation, but these are not always accessible. Therefore, we are interested in investigating whether the number of daily steps can affect how you experience DOMS.

Sensory Interaction and Balance Control During Standing and Walking in Healthy Young and Older Adults

This project is designed to: a) develop a new test called UHasselt Locomotor Sensory Integration Test (UHLSINT) which would allow us to evaluate sensory interaction process in locomotion assess whether Locomotor CTSIB and to investigate whether UHLSINT is a reliable test to evaluate sensory interaction in both young and older adults, b) evaluate the difference in sensory interaction and balance performance between standing and walking between both young and older adults, c) examine the changes in sensory interaction process under challenging conditions such as perturbations, dual-task, and when both are present between both young and older adults, d) examine the association between overall fall risk defined by the single-large perturbations and sensory interaction processes used during all the trials in both age groups. In order to achieve these aims, 10 trials will be conducted: Trial 1- Single-Large Perturbation in Standing Trial 2- Single-Large Perturbation in Walking Trial 3- Instrumented CTSIB Trial 4- Locomotor CTSIB Trial 5- Instrumented CTSIB + Perturbations Trial 6- Locomotor CTSIB + Perturbations Trial 7- Instrumented CTSIB + Auditory Stroop Test Trial 8- Locomotor CTSIB + Auditory Stroop Test Trial 9- Instrumented CTSIB + Perturbations + Auditory Stroop Test Trial 10- Locomotor CTSIB + Perturbations + Auditory Stroop Test Two different treadmill perturbations will be applied in addition to the Instrumented CTSIB and UHLSINT: a) slip perturbations, b) continuous perturbations. An auditory stroop task will be applied in relevant trials. All of the trials will be performed in CAREN High-End Systems (Motek Medical BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) which is a motion capture system that is equipped with a treadmill mounted on a 6 degree of freedom motion base, a 360º dome-shaped virtual reality (VR) screen, and a marker-based movement analysis system.