Introducing JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies: A Venue for Publishing Interdisciplinary Research on the Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Health Innovations and Emerging Technologies in the Field of Rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation supports the affected individual and their caregivers in managing the health condition and its associated symptoms, altering the environment to accommodate needs, adapting tasks for safe and independent performance, facilitating self-management, and using assistive devices and technologies. JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies focuses on pragmatic yet rigorous and impactful science that reports on the development, implementation, and evaluation of health innovations and interventions as well as emerging technologies in the field of rehabilitation.

Development of the Preferred Components for Co-Design in Research Guideline and Checklist: Protocol for a Scoping Review and a Modified Delphi Process.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that co-design can lead to more engaging, acceptable, relevant, feasible, and even effective interventions. However, no guidance is provided on the specific designs and associated methods or methodologies involved in the process. We propose the development of the Preferred Components for Co-design in Research (PRECISE) guideline to enhance the consistency, transparency, and quality of reporting co-design studies used to develop complex health interventions. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to develop the first iteration of the PRECISE guideline. The purpose of the PRECISE guideline is to improve the consistency, transparency, and quality of reporting on studies that use co-design to develop complex health interventions. METHODS: The aim will be achieved by addressing the following objectives: to review and synthesize the literature on the models, theories, and frameworks used in the co-design of complex health interventions to identify their common elements (components, values or principles, associated methods and methodologies, and outcomes); and by using the results of the scoping review, prioritize the co-design components, values or principles, associated methods and methodologies, and outcomes to be included in the PRECISE guideline. RESULTS: The project has been funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. CONCLUSIONS: The collective results of this project will lead to a ready-to-implement PRECISE guideline that outlines a minimum set of items to include when reporting the co-design of complex health interventions. The PRECISE guideline will improve the consistency, transparency, and quality of reports of studies. Additionally, it will include guidance on how to enact or enable the values or principles of co-design for meaningful and collaborative solutions (interventions). PRECISE might also be used by peer reviewers and editors to improve the review of manuscripts involving co-design. Ultimately, the PRECISE guideline will facilitate more efficient use of new results about complex health intervention development and bring better returns on research investments. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/50463.

The ketogenic diet as a treatment for traumatic brain injury: a scoping review.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The ketogenic diet (KD) has been identified as a potential therapy to enhance recovery after TBI. The purpose of this study is to complete a scoping review and synthesize the evidence regarding the KD and its therapeutic effects in TBI. The methodological framework of Arksey and O'Malley was employed. Databases searched include Medline, EMBASE, CCRCT, CINAHL and WebOfScience. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts in a two-step screening protocol to determine inclusion. Abstracted data included study setting and therapeutic mechanism. The KD was demonstrated to reduce cerebral oedema, apoptosis, improve cerebral metabolism and behavioural outcomes in rodent TBIs. Additionally, the KD affected rodent TBIs in an age-dependent manner. Due to a lack of relevant outcome measures, the human trials did not establish much evidence with respect to the KD as a treatment for TBI; only its safety was established. The KD is an effective treatment for TBI recovery in rats and shows potential in humans. Future research should aim to better elucidate the KD's mechanisms of action in human TBIs and determine if the KD's effectiveness on clinical outcomes can be reproduced in humans.

The association between adverse childhood experiences and traumatic brain injury/concussion in adulthood: A scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a significant risk factor for physical and mental illnesses later in life. Concussion or traumatic brain injury is a challenging condition where preinjury factors may interact to affect recovery. The association between ACEs and traumatic brain injury/concussion is not well mapped in any previous reviews of the literature. Using a scoping review methodology, the research question that will be addressed is: what is known from the existing literature about the association between ACEs and traumatic brain injury/concussion in adults? METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The methodological frameworks outlined by Arksey and O'Malley and Levac et al will be used. All original studies in English published since 2007 investigating ACEs and traumatic brain injury/concussion outcomes will be included with no limitations on study type. Literature search strategies will be developed using medical subject headings and text words related to ACEs and traumatic brain injury/concussions. Multiple electronic databases will be searched. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts for full-text review and full texts for final inclusion. Two independent reviewers will extract data on study characteristics for ACE exposure and traumatic brain injury/concussion outcomes. Extracted data will be summarised quantitatively using numerical counts and qualitatively using thematic analysis. DISSEMINATION: This review will identify knowledge gaps on the associations between ACEs and traumatic brain injury/concussion and promote further research. Knowledge translation will occur throughout the review process with dissemination of project findings to stakeholders at the local, national and international levels.

Views of people with traumatic spinal cord injury about the components of self-management programs and program delivery: a Canadian pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Given the increasing emphasis on the community management of spinal cord injury (SCI), strategies that could be developed and implemented in order to empower and engage individuals with SCI in promoting their health and minimizing the risk of health conditions are required. A self-management program could be one approach to address these complex needs, including secondary complications. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the importance attributed to the components of a self-management program by individuals with traumatic SCI and explore their views/opinions about the delivery of such a program. METHODS: Individuals with SCI were recruited by email via the Rick Hansen Institute (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) as well as an outpatient hospital spinal clinic. Data were collected by self-report using an on-line survey. RESULTS: The final sample size was 99 individuals with traumatic SCI. The components of a self-management program that were rated as "very important" by the greatest proportion of participants included: exercise (n= 53; 53.5%), nutrition (n= 51; 51.5%), pain management (n= 44; 44.4%), information/education on aging with a SCI (n= 42; 42.4%), communicating with health care professionals (n= 40; 40.4%), problem solving (n= 40; 40.4%), transitioning from rehabilitation to the community (n= 40; 40.4%), and confidence (n= 40; 40.4%). Overall, 74.7% (n= 74) of the sample rated the overall importance of the development of a self-management program for individuals with traumatic SCI as "very important" or "important". Almost 40% (n= 39) of the sample indicated that an internet-based self-management program would be the best delivery format. The highest proportion of participants indicated that the program should have individuals of a similar level of injury (n= 74; 74.7%); having individuals of a similar age (n= 40; 40.4%) was also noted. Over one-quarter of the sample (n= 24) had a depression score consistent with significant symptoms of depression. CONCLUSIONS: Future research is needed to further evaluate how the views of people with traumatic SCI change over time. Our findings could be used to develop and pilot test a self-management program for individuals with traumatic SCI.