Self-Selected Versus Assigned Target to Reduce Smartphone Use and Improve Mental Health: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Smartphones have become integral to people's lives, with a noticeable increase in the average screen time, both on a global scale and, notably, in India. Existing research links mobile consumption to sleep problems, poor physical and mental health, and lower subjective well-being. The comparative effectiveness of monetary incentives given for self-selected versus assigned targets on reducing screen time and thereby improving mental health remains unanswered. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to assess the impact of monetary incentives and target selection on mobile screen time reduction and mental health. METHODS: We designed a 3-armed randomized controlled trial conducted with employees and students at an educational institution in India. The study is conducted digitally over 12 weeks, including baseline (2 weeks), randomization (1 week), intervention (5 weeks), and postintervention (4 week) periods. We emailed the employees and students to inquire about their interest in participation. Those who expressed interest received detailed study information and consent forms. After securing consent, participants were asked to complete the initial survey and provide their mobile screen time during the baseline period. At the beginning of the intervention period, the participants were randomly allocated into 1 of 3 study groups in a 2:2:1 ratio (self-selected vs assigned vs control). Participants in the self-selected group were presented with 3 target options: 10%, 20%, and 30%, and they were asked to self-select a target to reduce their mobile screen time from their baseline average mobile screen time. Participants in the assigned group were given a target to reduce their mobile screen time from their baseline average mobile screen time. The assigned target was set as the average of the targets selected by participants in the self-selected group. During the intervention period, participants in the self-selected and assigned group were eligible to receive a monetary incentive of INR (Indian Rupee) 50 (US $0.61) per day for successfully attaining their target. Participants in the control group neither received nor selected a target for reducing their mobile screen time and did not receive any monetary incentives during the intervention period. All participants received information regarding the advantages of reducing mobile screen time. As an incentive, all participants would receive INR 500 (US $6.06) upon completion of the study and a chance to win 1 of 2 lotteries valued at INR 5000 (US $60.55) for consistently sharing their mobile screen time data. RESULTS: Currently, the study intervention is being rolled out. Enrollment occurred between August 21, 2023, and September 2, 2023; data collection concluded in November 2023. We expect that results will be available by early 2024. CONCLUSIONS: The monetary incentives and self-selected versus assigned targets might be effective interventions in reducing mobile screen time among working professionals and students. TRIAL REGISTRATION: AsPredicted 142497; https://aspredicted.org/hr3nn.pdf. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/53756.

A linear cross-coupled gate-driven quasi-floating bulk low-power wide input range transconductor.

High linearity for a wider input voltage range and low-power operation of the operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) are indispensable parameters for health care applications, which require high quality and accurate signal conditioning. However, achieving low-power operation along with high linearity at low supply voltages is challenging for OTA using conventional low-power and linearization techniques. This paper proposes an OTA based on a cross-coupled gate-driven quasi-floating bulk (CGDQFB) MOSFET and source-degenerated linearization techniques, which works at a supply of ±0.5 V. The post-layout simulations of the proposed OTA are performed in the 180 nm standard CMOS process, which shows a transconductance of 0.321 µS, an output impedance of 331 MΩ, an input impedance of 897 GΩ, a DC gain of 40.54 dB, a gain-bandwidth of 0.145 MHz, a total harmonic distortion (THD) of 51.09 dB for an input voltage range of 626.7 mV at a frequency of 100.39 Hz, and a power consumption of 0.45 µW. The proposed OTA shows an input common mode range of -0.34 to 0.4 V, an output voltage swing of -0.34 to 0.34 V, a common mode rejection ratio of 91.08 dB, and a consumption area of 23 965.92 µm2. Furthermore, with 200 Monte Carlo iterations, the proposed OTA shows variability for gain and THD of 0.003 and 0.036, respectively. The proposed CGDQFB OTA is a suitable contender for conditioning bio-signals used in health care applications.

Outcomes of a hypertension care program based on task-sharing with private pharmacies: a retrospective study from two blocks in rural India.

Low density of formal care providers in rural India results in restricted and delayed access to standardized management of hypertension. Task-sharing with pharmacies, typically the first point of contact for rural populations, can bridge the gap in access to formal care and improve health outcomes. In this study, we implemented a hypertension care program involving task-sharing with twenty private pharmacies between November 2020 and April 2021 in two blocks of Bihar, India. Pharmacists conducted free hypertension screening, and a trained physician offered free consultations at the pharmacy. We calculated the number of subjects screened, initiated on treatment (enrolled) and the change in blood pressure using the data collected through the program application. Of the 3403 subjects screened at pharmacies, 1415 either reported having a history of hypertension or had elevated blood pressure during screening. Of these, 371 (26.22%) were enrolled in the program. Of these, 129 (34.8%) made at least one follow-up visit. For these subjects, the adjusted average difference in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the screening and follow-up visits was -11.53 (-16.95 to -6.11, 95% CI) and -4.68 (-8.53 to -0.82, 95% CI) mmHg, respectively. The adjusted odds of blood pressure being under control in this group during follow-up visits compared to screening visit was 7.07 (1.29 to 12.85, 95% CI). Task-sharing with private pharmacies can lead to early detection and improved control of blood pressure in a resource-constrained setting. Additional strategies to increase patient screening and retention rates are needed to ensure sustained health benefits.