Published claims should be reproducible, yielding the same result when applying the same analysis to the same data. We assessed reproducibility in a stratified random sample of 600 papers published from 2009 to 2018 in 62 journals spanning the social and behavioural sciences. Authors of 144 (24.0% [95% CI 20.8 - 27.6%]) papers made data available to assess reproducibility, and for 38 others, we obtained source data to reconstruct the dataset. We assessed 143 of the 182 available datasets and found that 76.6 (53.6% [95% CI 45.8 - 60.7%]) papers were rated as precisely reproducible and 105.0 (73.5% [95% CI 66.4 - 80.0%]) papers as at least approximately reproducible (within 15% of the original effects or within .05 of original p-values) after inverse weighting each of the 551 claims by the number of claims per paper. We observed higher reproducibility for papers from Political Science and Economics than other fields, for more recent than older papers, and for papers from journals that required data sharing. Implementing measures to verify that research is reproducible is needed to support trustworthiness in the complex enterprise of knowledge production.

Against the backdrop of increasing challenges posed by ongoing climate change, pollution and its associated implications and environmental and climate protection measures have become the focus of politics and society in recent years. But adaptation and mitigation require changes in behavior among the population. This means that a process of social transformation must take place. Based on the thesis that people working in healthcare facilities can make a relevant contribution to the social transformation of environmental awareness, this study examines the general and workplace-related environmental awareness of hospital employees. Risk awareness, measure effectiveness, transformation costs and the subjective social norm factors were included, which eventually influence this awareness. Therefore, a mixed study design consisting of an original study and a systematic replication study was used. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (path analysis) to identify key predictors of environmental awareness and behavior. The results show that hospital employees generally have a high level of environmental awareness compared to the general population in Germany. This is also evident in their awareness of workplace-related measures. However, influencing factors such as transformation costs in particular mean that measures, even if they are considered effective, are only implemented to a limited extent by hospital employees. With regard to the question of whether hospital employees can play a key role in the social transformation process, this study does not provide sufficient evidence to answer this question.

Medical emergency situations can be highly distressing for patients and potentially lead to the development of psychological disorders. While psychological care and interventions are of obvious necessity to assist patients when coping with emergency situations, research regarding appropriate psychological care of prehospital and clinical emergency patients is limited. This scoping review provides an overview of the current state of research in emergency medicine with particular focus on communication strategies as well as psychological interventions. The aim is to present an overview of the psychological support recommended for or available to emergency patients. PubMed and PsycInfo were searched for eligible articles on psychological interventions or communication styles that assist acute and emergency adult patients in coping with the critical incident. The search started in June 2023 and was repeated in June 2024. The literature search resulted in 1080 articles. Ultimately, 26 articles were eligible for inclusion. The majority of articles focused on major and general trauma patients. Study settings involved emergency rooms, emergency medical services, burn units, intensive care units and other acute medical settings, such as maternity wards. While research results are heterogeneous due to a wide variety of interventions, there is evidence that patients require (psycho-)education and information regarding diagnosis and treatment to reduce psychological distress and maintain or regain mental health. This scoping review shows that the existing interventions and recommendations are too heterogeneous to recommend a universal approach for healthcare professionals. Nevertheless, (psycho-)education and informing patients has been demonstrated to be an effective means of reducing patients’ psychological distress and maintaining mental health. Further research is required to identify the most effective methods for assisting patients. This scoping review was registered with the Open Science Framework on 29 May 2024 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/GJ4EX). Clinical trial number: not applicable.

INTRODUCTION:In specialized children's hospitals, patients with acute gastroenteritis received supportive anthroposophic drug and non-drug therapies to improve the course of disease. In addition to actual effectiveness of the therapy, parents' experience of the hospital stay is an important factor in children's recovery. Both effectiveness and satisfaction were assessed by a parent survey. METHODS:The results presented here are part of a non-controlled, prospective case series study conducted between April 2018 and April 2020 in a department of integrative medicine for children and adolescents in a German anthroposophic hospital. Parents of hospitalized children were invited to participate in a prospective longitudinal survey (t1: during hospital stay; t2: 4-6 weeks after discharge). The survey covered socio-demographic data, course of symptoms, parental satisfaction and factors influencing recovery. RESULTS:Data from 60/62 (t1) and 36/62 (t2) questionnaires were analysed. There was a reduction in symptoms during hospitalization. Parents rated the effectiveness of the therapy as good (1.8 ± 0.6; 1 = very good; 6 = very bad) and were very satisfied (1.5 ± 0.5). Parents of children older than one year were more satisfied than parents of younger children. Out of all treatments, parents felt that rehydration therapy, the anthroposophic concept of the hospital and anthroposophic medicines had the most positive impact on their children's recovery. CONCLUSION:Parents were highly satisfied and felt that the anthroposophic therapy concept had beneficial effects on the course of disease.

Background/Objectives: Family caregivers play a central role in long-term care but are frequently exposed to considerable physical, emotional, and social strain. In Germany, care counseling pursuant to §45 SGB XI aims to identify caregiver burden at an early stage and provide preventive, resource-oriented support. Structured self-assessment tools may facilitate reflective dialogue within time-limited counseling sessions. The Self-Assessment Tool for Family Caregivers (SSA-PA) was developed to support this process; however, empirical evidence regarding its applicability in statutory counseling settings remains limited. This exploratory mixed-methods study aimed to generate empirical insights into (1) the perceived usefulness and acceptance of the SSA-PA among care advisors, (2) opportunities and challenges associated with its practical implementation, and (3) its perceived integration potential within routine counseling practice. Methods: Thirteen care advisors working under §45 SGB XI applied the SSA-PA in routine counseling and subsequently completed a structured online survey combining Likert-scale items and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 29), and qualitative responses were examined using thematic analysis. Given the moderate sample size (n = 13), analyses were primarily descriptive and exploratory in nature. Results: Care advisors reported high perceived usefulness and broad acceptance of the SSA-PA as a structuring and reflective instrument in counseling sessions. The tool was described as supportive in facilitating discussion of caregiver burden across multiple life domains and enhancing transparency of stress-related issues. At the same time, participants identified practical challenges, including time constraints, emotional strain for caregivers, technical barriers, and the need for clearer evaluation outputs. Suggestions for further development included automated result processing, individualized recommendations, and longitudinal tracking functions. Conclusions: From the perspective of participating care advisors, the SSA-PA demonstrates promising feasibility and acceptance within statutory preventive counseling under §45 SGB XI. While the findings provide practice-based evidence for its applicability, conclusions regarding effectiveness or outcome improvements cannot be drawn. Further research with larger samples and outcome-oriented designs is required to evaluate its impact on caregiver burden and counseling processes.

Empirical evidence on the curative and preventive effects of nature on mental health and well-being is growing. Nature, nature connectedness, and climate change are topics of increasing interest among psychotherapy associations and in psychotherapy and counseling research, theory, and practice. However, up to now, studies in this field have often focused on one psychotherapy/counseling modality or on one client group only – or they consist of small sample sizes. We conducted an explorative, cross-sectional online survey with a sample size of N = 1,190 that included psychotherapists being trained in different modalities (humanistic, behavioral, psychodynamic, systemic) to receive a wide range of perspectives referring to nature and nature-connecting methods in psychotherapy. Results reveal that psychotherapists perceive nature-connecting methods as highly relevant for psychotherapeutic practice enhancing, for example, the client-therapist relationship, and opening up new experiential spaces. Outcomes also point at possible potentials and aspects referring to the support of clients’ personal development and therapeutic progress (e.g., walking side by side in outdoor therapy, nature connectedness, silence in nature). Nature-connecting methods were judged to foster ecological awareness, sustainable attitudes, and to relate to emotional responses to the climate crisis in clients. Study participants also detected a lack of structured training opportunities and a range of challenges and risks (e.g., contraindications, loss of therapy room as safe space, legal issues). The empirical findings of our study contribute to the growing evidence in the field of nature-based psychotherapy and counseling and underline the necessity for further research in this context.

Goals are constant facets of everyday life that influence decisions in response to the environment. If an individual is confronted with circumstances making it difficult to achieve a goal, the individual may respond with goal disengagement (GD) after a certain period of time. This chapter addresses the question of how this time to GD is distributed. In this respect, a reanalysis was conducted on data from a study that used a digital, card-based game where the goal was to form as many sextuples of cards as possible. The analysis revealed a difference between the mean time to the first GD and the mean time to a subsequent GD. Additionally, the probability distributions of these two categories of GD are best represented by a log-normal mixture distribution. This finding suggests that the data may include two types of GD-populations showing different GD behavior, which could be beneficial for future research, particularly in the development of digital twins with respect to GD.

Pursuing replicability - independent evidence for previous claims - is important for creating generalizable knowledge(1,2). Here we attempted replications of 274 claims of positive results from 164 quantitative papers published from 2009 to 2018 in 54 journals in the social and behavioural sciences. Replications were high powered on average to detect the original effect size (median of 99.6%), used original materials when relevant and available, and were peer reviewed in advance through a standardized internal protocol. Replications showed statistically significant results in the original pattern for 151 of 274 claims (55.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) 49.2-60.9%)) and for 80.8 of 164 papers (49.3% (95% CI 43.8-54.7%)), weighed for replicating multiple claims per paper. We observed modest variation in replication rates across disciplines (42.5-63.1%), although some estimates had high uncertainty. The median Pearson's r effect size was 0.25 (95% CI 0.21-0.27) for original studies and 0.10 (95% CI 0.09-0.13) for replication studies, an 82.4% (95% CI 67.8-88.2%) reduction in shared variance. Thirteen methods for evaluating replication success provided estimates ranging from 28.6% to 74.8% (median of 49.3%). Some decline in effect size and significance is expected based on power to detect original effects and regression to the mean because we replicated only positive results. We observe that challenges for replicability extend across social-behavioural sciences, illustrating the importance of identifying conditions that promote or inhibit replicability(3,4).

Objective:Physical activity guidelines recommend both aerobic physical activity (APA) and muscle-strengthening activity (MSA) for chronic disease prevention. MSA benefits musculoskeletal health, whereas APA supports cardiovascular health, but epidemiological studies seldom separate MSA-specific associations from those of APA. We examined whether MSA relates more strongly to arthritis than to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods:We analyzed 31,238 non-institutionalized U.S. adults from the 2024 National Health Interview Survey in a cross-sectional design. Outcomes were self-reported physician diagnoses of arthritis and CVD. We fitted separate survey-weighted logistic regression models for arthritis and CVD, adjusting for APA, age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and smoking. Results:Each additional MSA day per week was associated with lower arthritis prevalence (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.88-0.96). No association was observed for CVD (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.92-1.04). The formal comparison indicated a significantly stronger association of MSA with arthritis than with CVD (P = 0.027). Conclusions:MSA was associated with lower arthritis prevalence but not with CVD, despite adjustment for APA and major confounders. These findings are compatible with more salient musculoskeletal than cardiovascular benefits of MSA. Promoting MSA alongside aerobic activity may support joint health and functional mobility across adulthood.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:Home care plays a crucial role in contemporary healthcare systems, particularly in the long-term care of people with chronic and progressive illnesses. Family caregivers often experience substantial physical, emotional, and organizational burden. Telemedicine and digital health applications have the potential to support home care by improving health monitoring, communication, and care coordination. However, their use among family caregivers remains inconsistent, and little is known about how organizational support structures such as telemedicine centers influence acceptance and everyday use. This study aims to examine the benefits of telemedicine in home care and to evaluate the role of telemedicine centers as supportive infrastructures for family caregivers. METHODS:A mixed-methods design was applied. Quantitative data were collected through an online survey of 58 family caregivers to assess the use of telemedicine and digital health applications, perceived benefits, barriers, and support needs. This was complemented by an in-depth qualitative case study exploring everyday caregiving experiences with telemedicine technologies and telemedicine center support. A systematic literature review informed the theoretical framework and the development of the empirical instruments. RESULTS:Most respondents reported not using telemedicine or digital health applications in home care. Among users, telemedicine was associated with perceived improvements in quality of care, particularly through enhanced health monitoring, improved communication with healthcare professionals, and increased feelings of safety and control. Key barriers to adoption included technical complexity, data protection concerns, and limited digital literacy. Both quantitative findings and the qualitative case study highlighted the importance of structured support. Telemedicine centers were perceived as highly beneficial, providing technical assistance, training, coordination, and ongoing guidance that facilitated technology acceptance and sustained use. CONCLUSIONS:Telemedicine and digital health applications can meaningfully support home care and reduce caregiver burden when they are embedded in supportive socio-technical structures. Telemedicine centers can function as central points of contact that enhance usability, trust, and continuity of care. The findings suggest that successful implementation of telemedicine in home care requires not only technological solutions but also accessible organizational support and targeted training for family caregivers.

Aim of this review was to identify and synthesize the results of primary studies on the relationship between oxytocin and music. This review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria. A systematic literature search was conducted via PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar and PsychArticles. Our inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) music intervention, including either active music-making or passive music listening, and (2) pre- and post-measurement of oxytocin as a blood or saliva test. Only primary studies were selected for review. Article search, data extraction and methodological study were performed by two reviewers independently in October 2023. Of the 839 initially identified articles, 15 articles met the inclusion criteria. Two additional studies were added via literature cross-references resulting in a total number of 760 participants. Of the 17 included studies, four studies showed an increase in oxytocin levels, three studies showed a decrease in oxytocin levels and five studies showed unchanged or non-significant changes in oxytocin levels. Another five studies showed opposing changes in oxytocin levels depending on the type of music intervention or characteristics of the participants, such as the extent of empathy. The methodological quality of studies varied, with six studies classified as low risk studies, seven studies at moderate risk of bias and four studies as high studies. Due to contradictory results of previous studies, more scientific research is needed to further explore and better understand the evidence obtained to date. Individual differences and contextual factors will have a key role in better understanding the relationship between the oxytocinergic system and music.

Background Artificial intelligence chatbots (AICs) are increasingly being integrated into scholarly publishing, with the potential to automate routine editorial tasks and streamline workflows. In traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) publishing, editorial and peer review processes can be particularly complex due to diverse methodologies and culturally embedded knowledge systems, presenting unique opportunities and challenges for AIC adoption. Methods An anonymous, online cross-sectional survey was distributed to the editorial board members of 115 TCIM journals. The survey assessed familiarity and current use of AICs, perceived benefits and challenges, ethical concerns, and anticipated future roles in editorial workflows. Results Of 5119 invitations, 217 eligible participants completed the survey. While approximately 70% of respondents reported familiarity with AI tools, over 60% had never used AICs for editorial tasks. Editors expressed strongest support for text-focused applications, such as grammar and language checks (81.0%) and plagiarism/ethical screening (67.4%). Most respondents (82.8%) believed that AICs would be important or very important to the future of scholarly publishing; however, the majority (65.3%) reported that their journals lacked AI-specific policies and training programs to guide editors and peer reviewers. Conclusions Most TCIM editors believe that AICs have potential to support routine editorial functions but also have limited adoption into editorial and peer review processes due to practical, ethical, and institutional barriers. Additional training and guidance are warranted by journals to direct responsible and ethical use if AICs are to be adopted in TCIM academic publishing.

BACKGROUND:Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) has been established in the academic context of universities. In recent years, strategies have been developed worldwide to strengthen the role of TCIM in supporting the health of the population. Online databases are a common way for obtaining evidence-based information. This article is an update of a former systematic review from 2010 on published databases resources for TCIM. METHODS:The databases CINAHL, CAMbase, Web of Science, MEDLINE/PubMed, and Google Scholar search engine were searched for databases related to TCIM published in peer-reviewed journals between 2010 and November 2024. All included databases were visited online, and information on the origin, content, and scope of the database was extracted. RESULTS:A total of 6579 articles were identified through the literature search. After exclusion of irrelevant articles, full-text screening of 127 articles yielded 37 new databases. Together with 16 still available old databases, these mainly contained information on herbal therapies (n = 15) and Traditional Chinese Medicine (n = 11) from 18 different countries. Newly identified medicinal plant databases offer various scientific resources such as crude drugs, indigenous plants, and structures for natural and phytochemical components with molecular biological content. CONCLUSIONS:This literature review illustrates the dynamic development in the database landscape over the last 15 years. While the number of bibliographic databases is shrinking, databases in the field of medical plants/herbal therapy content are on the rise, which might be due to advances in plant genomics and molecular biology.

Introduction: Herpes labialis, commonly caused by herpes simplex virus type 1, affects millions globally and is traditionally managed with nucleoside antiviral drugs. However, increasing interest in complementary and integrative therapies has led to the exploration of topical herbal treatments as potential alternatives or adjuncts in managing this condition. Methods: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with Cochrane guidelines and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses recommendations, with prior registration. A comprehensive search of Medline/PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was performed from inception to June 17, 2024. After screening 7,386 nonduplicate records and assessing 346 full-text articles, 7 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) encompassing 1,250 patients were included. Data were extracted regarding intervention types, outcomes, and adverse events, and the risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Results: The included studies evaluated topical formulations of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.), olive leaf extract (Olea europaea L.), propolis, and a combined sage-rhubarb cream (Salvia officinalis L., Rheum palmatum L., and Rheum officinale Baill.). Lemon balm preparations consistently reduced pain intensity and swelling, with some studies also reporting a significant decrease in lesion size compared with placebo or acyclovir. Olive leaf extract demonstrated a statistically significant faster improvement in symptoms and a shorter healing time compared with acyclovir. Compared with acyclovir, propolis formulations significantly shortened the median time to lesion encrustation and complete healing compared with acyclovir, and the combined sage-rhubarb cream showed a comparable efficacy to acyclovir in mean healing time. Overall, the risk of bias was judged to be low in two trials, while five trials raised some concerns. The total sample size across studies was small, potentially limiting the generalizability of the results. Across all studies, adverse events were minimal or absent. Discussion: The findings indicate that topical herbal therapies may provide effective and well-tolerated alternatives or adjuncts to conventional antiviral treatments for herpes labialis. However, considerable heterogeneity in intervention protocols and outcome measures, as well as the underrepresentation of pediatric populations, limit the generalizability of these findings. Conclusion: Topical herbal interventions, including lemon balm, olive leaf extract, propolis, and sage-rhubarb formulations, demonstrate potential benefits in managing herpes labialis with favorable safety profiles. Future well-designed, large-scale RCTs employing standardized methodologies are necessary to confirm these findings and to establish optimal treatment protocols for diverse patient populations (Inplasy protocol number: 202350038).

Science is integral to society because it can inform individual, government, corporate, and civil society decision-making on issues such as public health, new technologies or climate change. Yet, public distrust and populist sentiment challenge the relationship between science and society. To help researchers analyse the science-society nexus across different geographical and cultural contexts, we undertook a cross-sectional population survey resulting in a dataset of 71,922 participants in 68 countries. The data were collected between November 2022 and August 2023 as part of the global Many Labs study “Trust in Science and Science-Related Populism” (TISP). The questionnaire contained comprehensive measures for individuals’ trust in scientists, science-related populist attitudes, perceptions of the role of science in society, science media use and communication behaviour, attitudes to climate change and support for environmental policies, personality traits, political and religious views and demographic characteristics. Here, we describe the dataset, survey materials and psychometric properties of key variables. We encourage researchers to use this unique dataset for global comparative analyses on public perceptions of science and its role in society and policy-making.

Background: Dementia patients often experience a decline in both their cognitive and sensory functions, particularly hearing, which significantly impacts their quality of life. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a combined Digital Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (DKST) and online hearing training intervention in enhancing the quality of life of individuals with dementia. Methods: Twenty-three patients participated in a six-month program integrating cognitive exercises and hearing rehabilitation, facilitated by trained co-therapists. Quality of life was assessed using the Quality of Life (QoL) Questionnaire, while the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was employed to categorize participants based on their cognitive status. Results: The results revealed significant improvements in the overall quality of life. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that combining DKST with hearing training effectively addresses sensory and cognitive challenges, supporting improved quality of life and highlighting the potential of digital interventions in dementia care.