Interactive Journal of Medical Research

Breastfeeding provides unmatched health, developmental, and economic benefits to both infants and mothers, yet breastfeeding continuation rates remain suboptimal in the United States, especially beyond the early postpartum period. Despite well-documented advantages, many mothers face challenges that lead to early cessation, including lack of access to skilled lactation support. International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs) are considered the clinical gold standard in lactation care, but their availability varies widely across states. Understanding how IBCLC access relates to breastfeeding outcomes at the population level is critical to informing equitable public health interventions.

The emergence of problematic digital use (PDU) is increasingly alarming, affecting between 7% and 20% of the world's adolescent population. However, there is no validated questionnaire in French to measure this. Only a few questionnaires self-reported by adolescents or hetero-reported by parents have been translated and validated in English.

Stroke remains a major cause of death and disability worldwide. Ischemic stroke is the most common type of stoke. Readmissions after hospitalization increase the patient burden and waste health resources.

Nutritional inadequacy and consequent diminished immunity among school age children is a public health problem in India. Nutrition interventional studies using cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design can avoid ethical issues inherent with double-blind individual RCT in children involving daily administration of empty-calorie placebo.

Prone positioning has emerged as a crucial intervention in managing acute respiratory failure (ARF), especially in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) and COVID-19 patients. Given the increasing interest in this field, it is important to characterize global research trends and key contributors to identify future research directions.

Obstetrics and gynecology journal impact factor trends during the COVID-19 pandemic were similar to those seen among other medical specialties and our findings further highlight the ongoing need to implement a metric of research impact that is not as easily manipulated by selective publication.

Virtual reality (VR) has become a powerful tool for enhancing the experiences of patients with critical illnesses, particularly hospitalized children with leukemia. Since traveling is nearly impossible for them, St. Jude has teamed up with the travel company Expedia to launch “Dream Adventures,” a pilot program that offers immersive VR experiences, allowing children to explore new destinations from the comfort of the hospital.

Sarcopenia is defined by age-related reductions in muscle mass, strength, and physiological function, and it is especially prevalent among individuals with autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune disorders, characterized by immune dysregulation, cause systemic inflammation and damage to multiple tissues through unregulated immune activity. Research indicated that autoimmune diseases negatively impact skeletal muscle functions and may worsen the progression of sarcopenia. This viewpoint comprehensively discussed the pathogenesis and potential mechanism of sarcopenia in the three autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Mechanistically, chronic immune microenvironment alterations induce compartment-specific redistribution of leukocyte subsets and cytokine networks. These perturbations disrupt critical signaling pathways governing muscle protein synthesis, satellite cell activation, and mitochondrial bioenergetics, leading to impaired regeneration and accelerated sarcopenia progression. By delineating shared and distinct pathomechanisms across these models, this analysis reframes our understanding of immune-mediated muscle wasting. Beyond mechanistic insights, it establishes a translational framework for targeted therapies and highlights emerging research directions bridging immunology and age-related musculoskeletal decline.

Family caregivers commonly help manage medications taken by people living with dementia. Recent work has highlighted the importance of caregiver networks, which are multiple caregivers managing care for a single person with dementia, on managing care for persons living with dementia, especially medication management. However, less is known about the composition of caregiver networks.

The global targets for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing for achieving the United Nations Joint Programme of HIV/AIDS 95–95-95 are still short. Identifying gaps and opportunities for HIV testing uptake is crucial in fast-tracking the second (initiate people living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy) and third (viral suppression) UNAIDS goals. Machine learning and health technologies can precisely predict high-risk individuals and facilitate more effective and efficient HIV testing methods. Despite this advancement, there exists a research gap regarding the extent to which such technologies are integrated into HIV testing strategies worldwide.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into palliative medicine, offering opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, and patient-centeredness in end-of-life care. However, its use raises complex ethical issues, including privacy, equity, dehumanization, and decision-making dilemmas.

Urinary incontinence affects approximately 7% to 10% of children during the day and 9% to 12% of children during the night. Treatment mainly involves lifestyle advice and behavioral methods, but motivation and adherence are low. Traditional tools such as pen-and-paper solutions may feel outdated and no longer meet the needs of today’s “digital native” children. Meanwhile, digital interventions have already shown effectiveness in other pediatric health care areas.