Preliminary outcomes of healthy sleep practices and mind-body integrative health intervention among urban youth: Feasibility, acceptability, and initial impact

Sleep Health · 2025-09-02 · 2 citations

The Development, Feasibility, and Acceptability of <i>Sleeping Healthy, Living Healthy for Children</i> (SHLH-C): A Behavioral Sleep and Mind Body Integrative Health Intervention for School-Aged Children

The Journal of School Nursing · 2025-11-26 · 1 citations

Poor sleep significantly impacts elementary school-aged children's health and wellbeing. Few interventions have been developed to address sleep among this population, and none have included mind–body integrative health (MBIH). To address this, we developed Sleeping Healthy, Living Healthy for Children . This article describes our iterative development process, the final curriculum, and results of a proof-of-concept study evaluating the intervention's feasibility and acceptability, and if there was a signal for sleep improvement. The final manualized intervention consists of six group sessions which integrate healthy sleep behaviors with MBIH techniques. Doctor of Nursing Practice students successfully delivered the program to 14 children in an afterschool program in New York City, as evidenced by good intervention fidelity and high attendance rates. The children reported high program satisfaction and use of the healthy sleep behaviors and MBIH techniques taught. Preliminary findings indicate improvement in the children's sleep-related impairment and sleep disturbances.

A case study of the co-creation of the PrEP-SIC: a roadmap to support introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis into new settings

BMC Health Services Research · 2025-05-01 · 3 citations

BACKGROUND: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective biomedical intervention to prevent HIV, however uptake of PrEP across the United States has been slow and uneven. Understanding "what it takes" to implement PrEP so that it reaches those groups with the highest rates of new diagnoses is a critically important and understudied question. This descriptive case study details the development of an implementation science tool to guide the introduction of PrEP into new settings. METHODS: The Universal Stages of Implementation Completion (U-SIC) was customized for the provision of PrEP services (PrEP-SIC) by using subject matter expert recommendations to operationalize PrEP implementation processes into discreet activities. Six clinical sites used the PrEP-SIC retrospectively and prospectively to assess the extent to which the PrEP-SIC activities mapped onto their experience of introducing oral daily, event-driven, and injectable PrEP into their clinical settings. Interviews with site champions and PrEP-SIC data, including proportion of activities completed, were analyzed to refine the PrEP-SIC and identify patterns of implementation behavior. RESULTS: Five themes emerged about the accuracy of the PrEP-SIC to capture real world implementation processes: (1) Some PrEP-SIC activities, such as generating a costing plan, are not reflected in real-world implementation; (2) Sites do not define sustainment as achieving a set of quantitative program goals, but rather as being able to continue a program through staffing turnovers and shortages; (3) Written protocols and reviewing clinic data for program improvement were identified as two key factors that differentiate sites that reached sustainment from sites that did not; (4) The PrEP-SIC is assessed as somewhat useful to guide introduction of PrEP, but pairing the tool with technical assistance or coaching would optimize its utility; (5) Implementation is cyclical and recursive and pre-implementation activities may need to be revisited over time to ensure sustainment. CONCLUSIONS: The case study has resulted in a PrEP-SIC that accurately captures an idealized implementation process. Using a well-defined set of implementation activities as a roadmap with supportive services to clinics, like technical assistance or implementation coaching, could direct implementation efforts and facilitate the integration of PrEP into new clinical settings that reach the people who need PrEP the most.

Building and Sustaining a Framework to Expand Pediatric Acupoint Therapies at School-Based Health Centers and an Academic Tertiary Care Children’s Hospital in New York City

Medical Acupuncture · 2025-12-31

Research has shown that acupoint therapy can be a viable, evidence-based treatment for treating sleep, anxiety, and pain symptoms among children, adolescents, and adults. This article provides a framework to translate acupoint therapy into formalized programs in outpatient and inpatient pediatric settings. The lead author and her team worked together with children and adolescents in urban school-based health centers and a pediatric tertiary care hospital within a large academic urban medical center using different forms of acupoint therapy to support patients in managing a variety of symptoms. We describe the process of developing patient-centered, evidence-based programs with a strong foundation in research, administration, clinical care, and education, and demonstrate how this model can be effective through teamwork, training, and innovation.

Motivational Interviewing, Mindfulness, and Other Integrative Health Modalities

2025-09-01

Abstract This chapter focuses on the clinical applications of integrating motivational interviewing with mindfulness and other integrative health modalities. The use of integrative approaches to health and wellness has grown within medical care settings across the world and their potential benefits extend to promote healthy behavior changes. The chapter provides a brief overview of the similarities and philosophical differences between motivational interviewing, mindfulness practices, and integrative health modalities and explores how these modalities can work synergistically to promote behavior change. The integrative health modalities discussed include acupuncture, Tai Chi, Reiki, aromatherapy, biofeedback, and other modalities.

‘We need transparency and communication to build trust’: exploring access to primary care services for young adults through community-based youth participatory action research and group concept mapping

International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health · 2025-06-01

The transition from adolescence to young adulthood presents an opportunity for health promotion and illness prevention. However, the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare services is complex and exposes systemic vulnerabilities in the healthcare system, particularly in access to care for marginalized youth. There exist high rates of discontinuity in primary care for young adults, amplifying health disparities. In the final stages of the transition process, the transfer to adult healthcare services is critical to continuity of care. There is a need to better understand and address access to care issues for young adults. This study explores barriers and facilitators to access to primary care for young adults in an urban Latinx community through community-based participatory research (CBPR) and youth participatory action research (YPAR). This study was developed in partnership with a hospital-affiliated community-based youth program and youth research leaders. Group concept mapping methodology was used to structure discussions with the organization's youth and staff members. Results indicate that the highest priority factors for young adults in seeking primary care are related to the culture of the clinical setting, including intangible factors such as "respect by front desk staff" and "relationship with provider." These factors are also perceived by young adults to be more feasible targets for improvement as opposed to, for example, insurance coverage. The findings provide a roadmap to advocate for interventions to transform young adult services within the healthcare system as well as a framework for integrating youth voices and leadership into the research process.

Best practices for reducing pain associated with intrauterine device placement

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology · 2025-02-03 · 27 citations

Intrauterine devices are highly effective, long-acting, reversible forms of contraception. Despite their benefits, limited uptake persists, particularly among underserved populations, adolescents, and young adults. While most intrauterine device placement procedures are uncomplicated, pain is commonly reported, with more severe pain reported in certain groups. No current standard of care has been established specifically to manage pain with intrauterine device placement, resulting in wide variation in clinical practice. This article aims to provide practical, evidence-based, and expert-informed guidelines for managing pain during intrauterine device placement. The authors (a group of board-certified obstetrician-gynecologists, pediatricians, and a family physician) conducted a virtual expert meeting to develop consensus-based recommendations for pain management. The meeting covered environmental considerations, nonpharmacological, and pharmacological options. Key strategies include using a person-centered care model that focuses on patient values, needs, and preferences to promote shared decision-making around pain relief. Clinicians should assist patients in setting realistic expectations, including a discussion of the placement procedure, anticipated pain, and all options for pain relief, to allow for a comprehensive informed consent process. Nonpharmacological interventions, such as the use of therapeutic language and comforting environmental, complementary and integrative, and mind-body elements, are recommended to reduce patient anxiety and discomfort. In terms of pharmacological options, clinicians may offer pre-procedural-specific nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (eg, naproxen and ketorolac) and anxiolytics to patients with significant anxiety, as well as intraprocedural application of topical anesthesia and paracervical or intracervical blocks. Finally, additional techniques, such as using appropriately sized instruments and ensuring gradual and gentle procedural steps, can also help enhance patient comfort during insertion. These expert guidelines emphasize the importance of personalized, trauma-informed, and evidence-based care, prioritizing patient autonomy and preferences to facilitate a safe and acceptable insertion experience. They are critical to reducing barriers to intrauterine device uptake and improving overall patient outcomes.

Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness

2025-09-01

Abstract The combined application of motivational interviewing (MI) and mindfulness (MF) can be fundamental in fostering behavioral change and growth among patients struggling with medical and psychological conditions, such as chronic pain or depression. Many wonder whether combining the two modalities is a do-able and effective clinical intervention strategy. Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness guides practitioners through the process, exploring “a way of being” with patients that digs into the fluid and ever-evolving territory of MI and MF within healthcare settings. Split into three parts, this guide provides practitioners and trainees with a conceptual toolkit and set of practical strategies for integrating the evidence-based interventions of MI and MF to enhance patient-centered communication and facilitate behavioral change. It offers innovative ways to incorporate the spirit and skills of MI for empowering the patient’s autonomous self-regulation with components of MF, such as compassion and acceptance. Throughout, the authors discuss their clinical and scientific perspectives along with the best empirical data available, identifying where the integration of MI and MF is readily applicable and useful and where there may be challenges. Chapters also feature clinical vignettes showcasing the integration of MI and MF in real-world clinical practice, accompanied by evidence-based discussion, personal reflections, and self-assessment questions that summarize key concepts. This is a guide by practitioners for practitioners in healthcare, no matter what their specialty or setting, but will be especially relevant for those in the fields of psychiatry, internal medicine, and family medicine.

Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness into Healthcare with Adolescents

2025-09-01

Abstract Motivational interviewing and mindfulness-based interventions are both effective approaches for addressing adolescent health and well-being while taking into consideration developmental level. Combining these two intervention has synergistic effect, but they differ in their focus and components. Motivation interviewing helps teens explore and resolve their ambivalence towards behavior change and evoke their own motivations for change, while mindfulness practices cultivate awareness of the present moment and promote self-regulation. This chapter focuses on how to combine motivational interviewing and mindfulness in clinical encounters with youth. It reviews mindfulness practices facilitated by a therapeutic relationship infused with motivational interviewing’s guiding spirit, skills, and strategies.

Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness

2025-09-01

Abstract This chapter focuses on the integration of mindfulness and motivational interviewing in clinical encounters. It highlights and reviews mechanisms of action, areas of divergence, convergence, challenges, and core strategies and opportunities for integration. It also reviews the benefits of integration of motivational interviewing and mindfulness. Both of these approaches focus on acknowledging core human values, empowering patients to change, and providing a catalyst for fostering motivation for change and behavioral action leading to positive outcomes. The chapter offers practical applications and tips for practitioners when combining the two modalities.