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Background Adhering to varenicline has been shown to signifcantly improve the chances of successfully quitting smoking, with studies indicating a twofold increase in 6-month quit rates. However, despite its potential benefts, many individuals struggle with maintaining good adherence to varenicline; thus there is a need to develop scalable strategies to help people adhere. As a frst step to inform the development of an intervention to improve adherence to varenicline, we conducted a rapid literature review to identify: 1) modifable barriers and facilitators to varenicline adherence, and 2) behaviour change techniques associated with increased adherence to varenicline. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, APA PsycINFO, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for relevant studies published between 2006 and 2022. Search terms included “varenicline,” “smoking cessation,” and "adherence," and their respective subject headings and synonyms. We screened and included studies reporting modifable determinants of adherence to varenicline and then assessed quality, extracted modifable determinants and mapped them to the Theoretical Domains Framework version 2 and the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy version 1. Results A total of 1,221 titles were identifed through the database searches; 61 met the eligibility criteria. Most of the studies were randomized controlled trials and predominantly focused on barriers to varenicline. Only nine studies explicitly mentioned behaviour change techniques used to help varenicline adherence. Eight domains were identifed as barriers to varenicline adherence (behavioural regulation, memory, goals, intentions, beliefs about capabilities, beliefs about consequences, optimism/pessimism, and environmental context) and fve as facilitators (knowledge, behavioural regulation, beliefs about capabilities, social infuences, and environmental context). Conclusions This study identifes barriers and facilitators that should be addressed when developing a complex adherence intervention tailored to patients’ needs based on modifable determinants of medication adherence, some of which are under- used by existing adherence interventions. The fndings from this review will inform the design of a theory-based healthbot planned to improve varenicline adherence in people undergoing smoking cessation treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tobacco smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease among women. Quitting smoking offers numerous health benefits; however, women tend to have less success than men when attempting to quit. This discrepancy is partly due to sex- and gender-related factors, including the lower effectiveness of smoking cessation medication and the presence of unique motives for smoking and barriers to quitting among women. Despite the gendered nature of smoking, most smoking cessation apps are gender-neutral and fail to address women's specific needs. Objective: This study aims to test the acceptability and feasibility of a smartphone app that delivers gender-informed content to support women in quitting smoking. Methods: We co-developed a smoking cessation app specifically tailored for women, named My Change Plan-Women (MCP-W). This app builds upon our previous gender-neutral app, MCP, by retaining its content grounded in behavioral change techniques aimed at supporting tobacco reduction and cessation. This includes goal setting for quitting, identifying triggers to smoking, creating coping strategies, tracking cigarettes and cravings, and assessing financial savings from quitting smoking. The MCP-W app contains additional gender-informed content that acknowledges barriers to quitting, such as coping with stress, having smokers in one's social circle, and managing unpleasant emotions. This content is delivered through testimonials and animated videos. This study is a prospective, single-group, mixed methods investigation in which 30 women smokers will trial the app for a period of 28 days. Once participants provide informed consent, they will complete a baseline survey and download the app on their smartphones. After 28 days, participants will complete follow-up surveys. Acceptability will be assessed using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, which evaluates whether participants perceive the app as helpful in changing their smoking. The app will be deemed acceptable if the majority of participants rate it as such, and feasible if the majority of the participants use it for at least 7 days. Furthermore, after the 28-day trial period, participants will complete a semistructured interview regarding their experience with the app and suggestions for improvement. Results: Development of the MCP-W app was completed in September 2023. Participant recruitment for testing of the app commenced in February 2024 and was completed in July 2024. We will analyze the data upon completion of data collection from all 30 participants. We expect to share the results of this acceptability trial in the middle of 2025. Conclusions: Offering smoking cessation support tailored specifically to address the unique needs of women through a smartphone app represents a novel approach. This study will test whether women who smoke perceive this approach to be acceptable and feasible in their journey toward smoking cessation. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/60677 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biobanks, traditionally sources of tissues, have been redefined as repositories of genetic material. As such, they have been taken up in the move to genomics and have grown from modest repositories of well-documented, local tissue-sample collections to large-scale bioinformatics resources with a national or supranational scope. The records contained in these new biobanks aim to link clinical, life course and environmental, and genetic information at the level of populations and are therefore important infrastructures linking genes and society. In our study of two such biobanks, we have focussed on the metaphors used to discuss these initiatives in various discourses. We explore how biobanks become sites for working out the issues associated with biomedia. Les biobanques, traditionnellement sources de tissus, ont ete redefinies comme des depositaires de materiaux genetiques. Elles ont ete entrainees dans le mouvement vers la genomique et sont passees de modestes depositaires de collections d'echantillons de tissus tres documentees et locales a des ressources bioinformatiques a grande echelle, ayant une etendue nationale ou supranationale. Les dossiers contenus dans ces nouvelles biobanques ont pour but de lier la clinique, le cours de la vie et l'environnement a l'information genetique au niveau des populations et sont, par consequent, des infrastructures importantes liant les genes a la societe. Dans cette etude portant sur deux biobanques semblables, les auteurs se sont concentres sur les metaphores utilisees dans differents discours pour discuter de ces initiatives et analysent la facon dont les biobanques deviennent des lieux pour comprendre les questions associees aux biomedias., INSOFAR AS BIOBANKS MOVE the Human Genome Project (HGP) into a new phase, they link genetics, environment and function as tools for redefining health and illness. Insofar as biobanks link [...]

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an innovative technology being utilized to create prostheses for individuals with limb loss. However, there is a paucity of research on the feasibility of using this technology to fabricate prostheses. A scoping review was conducted to map the literature on 3D printing and its applications in the field of amputation. Using a scoping review framework, a systematic literature search was conducted in three electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL) for all indexed literature up to 29 June 2018. Twenty-eight articles met the inclusion criteria. The majority of studies had small sample sizes (five participants or less; n = 20) and used a case study design (n = 17). The benefits of 3D printing technology include higher levels of customization and lower production costs. However, the functionality of 3D printed prostheses is lacking. There is also a need for more robust research designs to obtain a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printed prostheses and its impact on end-user outcomes. The use of 3D printing technology has a number of benefits for improving the manufacturing process of devices for people with lower and upper limb loss. However, more research and technological advancements are required to fully understand the impact of this technology on patients and how it will affect their daily life. The long-term effects of this technology will also need to be investigated in order to produce a more sustainable alternative to traditional prostheses. The use of 3D printing technology for the fabrication of prosthetics for persons with limb-loss has a number of promising features to improve the fitting and customization of these devices for this patient population. Although the costs of producing 3D printed devices is less expensive and burdensome than traditional approaches to manufacturing techniques, there is a need for additional technological advancements to improve the functionality of these devices. Future research needs to adopt more robust research designs with larger sample sizes to provide a better understanding of the viability of using 3D printing technology to improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]