Meirong Liu

BACKGROUND Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) and remote patient monitoring (RPM) can extend hypertension management beyond clinical encounters, but transmission of readings alone may not sustain monitoring or prompt appropriate action. Digital coaching can add reminders, tailored education, feedback, motivation, goal setting, or human support; however, its architecture and outcome measurement vary substantially. OBJECTIVE This scoping review aimed to characterize the current evidence of digital coaching interventions linked to home or remote blood pressure monitoring. Specifically, it mapped the populations and contexts studied, intervention design and delivery, and the adherence, usability, and blood pressure outcomes evaluated. METHODS Following JBI guidance and the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), we searched PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore on February 11, 2026. Eligible sources were peer-reviewed English-language reports published from 2015 onward that evaluated digital or digitally enabled coaching linked to HBPM or RPM in adults with hypertension. Population, intervention features, theory, behavior-change, adherence, usability, and blood pressure outcomes were synthesized descriptively. RESULTS The searches identified 616 records; 519 remained after deduplication, and 62 reports underwent full-text assessment. Fifteen reports met the eligibility criteria. Nine (60.0%) originated in the United States, and eight (53.3%) were randomized controlled trials. Eight interventions (53.3%) used automated coaching, five (33.3%) used hybrid digital-human models, and two (13.3%) used interactive telephone coaching. All studies included self-monitoring, feedback, and instruction; prompts or cues appeared in 12 (80.0%), information about health consequences in 10 (66.7%), and goal setting, action planning, and verbal persuasion about capability in eight each (53.3%). Nine reports (60.0%) named a theoretical or self-management framework. Adherence definitions varied, while usability was generally favorable in seven studies that assessed it directly. Among randomized evaluations, five reported no statistically significant between-group improvement in blood pressure, two reported greater reductions in systolic but not diastolic blood pressure, and one evaluated measurement accuracy. Uncontrolled studies reported variable within-group patterns. CONCLUSIONS Digital coaching represented a heterogeneous family of automated, human-supported, and hybrid interventions. Favorable usability did not consistently correspond to comparative blood pressure improvement. Inconsistent outcome definitions, limited intervention architecture comparisons, and incomplete equity and implementation reporting restricted interpretation. Future studies should specify active components and clinical escalation pathways, use standardized adherence and usability measures, compare automated, human, and hybrid coaching across diverse populations, and assess outcomes over a longer-term period.

Background/Objectives: Pediatric asthma remains a pressing public health issue, especially among low-income, minority children living in subsidized housing. Methods: This study employed a community-based participatory research approach to explore barriers and potential solutions for improving asthma management in this vulnerable population. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 caregivers of children with asthma and 8 community health workers in Washington, DC—a city marked by high childhood asthma rates and concentrated subsidized housing. Results: Thematic analysis identified six core findings: (1) families frequently encountered multiple home environmental asthma triggers, including pests, mold, secondhand smoke, leaks, poor ventilation, and aging infrastructure; (2) healthy housing services were under implemented, often due to unresponsive landlords, inadequate inspections, and poor maintenance; (3) existing services such as pest control, mold remediation, and smoke-free policies were ineffectively implemented; (4) challenges to service delivery included difficulties faced by landlords and structural barriers tied to geography, race, and socioeconomic status; (5) substandard housing conditions contributed to residents’ feelings of powerlessness, frustration, and distrust, with some taking legal action to address persistent hazards; and (6) participants recommended stronger housing code enforcement, sustained funding for home-based environmental interventions, housing-health liaisons, strengthened landlord accountability, support for landlords to facilitate repairs, centering families’ voices, and advocacy. Conclusions: This study underscores the persistent challenges caregivers face in managing asthma triggers in subsidized housing. The findings highlight the critical need for improved housing conditions, greater landlord and housing authority accountability, and policy reforms to ensure consistent, equitable, and sustainable healthy housing services that reduce pediatric asthma disparities.

The 1974 Supreme Court decision Lau v. Nichols established a legal and moral foundation for linguistic equity in American public education. However, the legacy of Lau is still up for debate fifty years later. Through the entwined histories of bilingual education, federal enforcement, and ideological shift, this paper re-examines the ruling. It charts the evolution of dual-language immersion models from transitional bilingual programs, showing how local politics and federal policy have alternately increased and limited linguistic rights. The paper makes the case that Lau’s original vision has been altered by cycles of progress and backlash, reflecting larger conflicts between assimilation and pluralism, rights and resources, equity and gentrification. It does this by drawing on theories of language ideology and raciolinguistics. This analysis shows that language justice in the US depends on institutional and civic commitment as well as legal precedent by placing Lau within the political economy of education reform.

This scoping review aimed to identify predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with the use of mental health services, including psychotropic medications, among children in out-of-home care in the United States. We searched the PsycInfo, SocINDEX, Medline, and Scopus databases, and 22 studies met inclusion criteria and were systematically analyzed. Among the included studies, 7 studies examined predictors associated with taking psychotropic medications, and 16 examined factors associated with using other mental health services. Significant predisposing, enabling, and need factors associated with greater use of mental health services, including psychotropic medications, were identified. The most frequently identified predisposing factors were child race/ethnicity, age, gender, and maltreatment. Important enabling factors were out-of-home placement type and length of care, and need factors included children’s mental/behavioral problems. The results provide insight into maximizing factors facilitating children’s use of mental health services to address mental health problems of children in out-of-home care. Further, the results imply the importance of the appropriate use of psychotropic medication (e.g., the type and dosage of medications) among children in out-of-home care. The identified factors can inform child welfare agencies and stakeholders on ways to improve access to mental health services and the appropriate use of psychotropic medications among children in out-of-home care in the United States.

Community–academic partnerships (CAPs) are being increasingly used to study and address health disparity issues. CAPs help to create new bodies of knowledge and innovative solutions to community problems, which benefits the community and academia. Supported by a grant, a partnership was formed between an academic research team and a community health organization to analyze and interpret data collected from the caregivers of asthmatic African American children living in urban low-income households. Using a case study approach, we discuss how we built a healthy CAP and the lessons learned from the process. Our analysis was guided by the six main factors that facilitate success in developing collaborative relationships, including (1) environment; (2) membership; (3) process and structure; (4) communication; (5) purpose; and (6) resources. Based on these six factors, we describe our collaboration process, challenges, and areas for improvement. We aimed to provide a “points-to-consider” roadmap for academic and community partners to establish and maintain a mutually beneficial and satisfactory relationship. Collaborating with community members and organizations provides unique opportunities for researchers and students to apply their skills and knowledge from textbooks and the classroom, engage with community members, and improve real-life community needs. Building a constructive CAP involves efforts, energy, and resources from both parties. The six major themes derived from our project offer suggestions for building a healthy, collaborative, and productive relationship that best serves communities in the future.

Previous studies on individual-level variables have improved our knowledge base of oral health service use. However, environmental or contextual variables are also important in understanding oral health disparities in racial and ethnic neighborhoods. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological framework, this study examines the geographic availability of oral health providers in Washing-ton DC, U.S.A. Census tract-level data were drawn from the American Community Survey, joined with tract-level shapefiles, and overlaid with the geographic location of dental services throughout the city. Visual maps, descriptive statistics, and spatial lag regression models showed that census tracts with higher concentrations of African Americans were significantly farther from their nearest oral health providers (r = 0.19, p < 0.001), after controlling for neighborhood poverty rate, median age, and gender. Such findings confirm that in urban areas with highly di-verse populations such as Washington DC, racial disparities in oral health care access are signifi-cant. The study highlights that identifying neighborhoods with limited oral health care providers should be a priority in diminishing racial disparities in oral health service access. Improving access to racial/ethnic minority communities, especially African American neighborhoods, will require changes in health policies and programs, workforce development, resource allocation, community outreach, and educational programs.

Research has rarely examined how the COVID-19 pandemic may affect teens’ social media engagement and psychological wellbeing, and even less research has compared the difference between teens with and without mental health concerns. We collected and analyzed weekly data from January to December 2020 from teens in four Reddit communities (subreddits), including teens in r/Teenagers and teens who participated in three mental health subreddits (r/Depression, r/Anxiety, and r/SuicideWatch). The results showed that teens’ weekly subreddit participation, posting/commenting frequency, and emotion expression were related to significant pandemic events. Teen Redditors on r/Teenagers had a higher posting/commenting frequency but lower negative emotion than teen Redditors on the three mental health subreddits. When comparing posts/comments on r/Teenagers, teens who ever visited one of the three mental health subreddits posted/commented twice as frequently as teens who did not, but their emotion expression was similar. The results from the Interrupted Time Series Analysis (ITSA) indicated that both teens with and without mental health concerns reversed the trend in posting frequency and negative emotion from declining to increasing right after the pandemic outbreak, and teens with mental health concerns had a more rapidly increasing trend in posting/commenting. The findings suggest that teens’ social media engagement and emotion expression reflect the pandemic evolution. Teens with mental health concerns are more likely to reveal their emotions on specialized mental health subreddits rather than on the general r/Teenagers subreddit. In addition, the findings indicated that teens with mental health concerns had a strong social interaction desire that various barriers in the real world may inhibit. The findings call for more attention to understand the pandemic’s influence on teens by monitoring and analyzing social media data and offering adequate support to teens regarding their mental health wellbeing.

This study examines how discrimination intensity is associated with coping schemes and how peer relationships may moderate such an association. Using a sample of Chinese adolescents with vulnerabilities (n = 542), the findings show that about 60% of the adolescents had experienced moderate to high levels of discrimination. Multivariate models show that both discrimination intensity and peer relationships were associated with adolescents’ choices of coping schemes. Also, peer relationships moderated the association between discrimination intensity and coping schemes: for adolescents who experienced low-intensity discrimination, higher levels of peer relationships were positively associated with seeking help or confronting discrimination; but for adolescents who experienced high-intensity discrimination, higher levels of peer relationships were positively associated with passive endurance toward discrimination. The findings suggest using divergent strategies to support vulnerable youth facing different levels of discrimination, including promoting their healthy peer relationships in anti-discrimination efforts.

As part of the CSWE-China Collaborative, this article reports the outcomes of collaborative effort among two U.S. social work programmes and their partner schools in central China. It examines the challenges in social work field education through an indigenous perspective and offers suggestions through a cross-cultural lens. Using a mixed-method approach, we explored the perspectives of students and faculty members in central China. The survey included 200 students and 72 faculty members, and one focus group was conducted with eight faculty members. The identified challenges included low preparedness among students, lack of supportive resources from schools, unavailability of qualified supervisors and internship agencies and lack of environmental support. The solutions included providing students with orientations and ongoing support, enhancing faculty competencies, strengthen school-agency connections and implementing initiatives to increase the status of social work as a profession through evidence- and valued based social work practice.