Clinical trials

The goal of this study is to learn whether a telephone-based program that helps people share life memories can reduce loneliness and improve mental well-being, life satisfaction, and social support in older adults and their caregivers living in rural areas. This study has two parts. In the first part, researchers will gather feedback from a small group of older adults and informal caregivers to see if the updated telephone reminiscence program works well and is easy to use. In the second part, researchers will test the telephone reminiscence program in a clinical trial study to see whether the updated telephone reminiscence program reduces loneliness and improves social support, life satisfaction, and mental well-being in older adults and their caregivers. The researchers will also examine how the program impacts how often and for what reason you reminisce. The main questions this study aims to answer are: * Does the telephone reminiscence program improve social support, life satisfaction, and mental well-being and reduce loneliness in rural older adults and their caregivers? How does the telephone reminiscence impact how often and for what reason participants reminisce? * How often and how long do participants use the program? * How satisfied are older adults and informal caregivers with the program? In this study researchers will compare participants who begin the telephone reminiscence program right away with participants who start the program after a 12-week waiting period to see whether starting the program earlier leads to better outcomes. Participants will: * Take part in telephone calls 3 times a week that invite older adults to talk about their life experiences. * Answer brief survey questions about social support, loneliness, and mental well-being, and life satisfaction over time. * Include both older adults and their informal caregivers, who may also participate by recording questions in their own voice.

The investigators will conduct a feasibility and pilot efficacy randomized controlled trial to test the usability and user satisfaction of an evidence-based digital health tool the investigators developed for physicians to use to Prioritize Personalize Prescribe EXercise (P3-EX) to patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. The investigators will recruit 24 physicians from two local hospitals in CT, USA. Physicians will recruit two patients each (N=48) having CVD risk factors. Physicians will deliver a P3-EX exercise prescription (ExRx) to one of their patients (n=24) and the American College of Sports Medicine Physical Activity Vital Sign (ACSM-PAVS) ExRx to the other (n=24) in a random sequence crossover design. Physicians and patients will rate the feasibility and acceptability of each method using validated questionnaires. Patients will perform their prescribed ExRx for 12 weeks and complete a self-report exercise diary to monitor exercise adherence with virtual oversight from University of Connecticut (UConn) Graduate Research Assistants. Before and after the exercise intervention, the investigators will measure patient CVD risk factors and physical activity (PA) levels via accelerometry. The primary aim is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of P3-EX for physicians to use to prescribe exercise to patients with CVD risk factors, and the secondary aim is to explore the preliminary efficacy of P3-EX to improve patient CVD risk factors, PA levels, and exercise adherence. The investigators hypothesize P3-EX will be feasible for physicians to use to prescribe customized exercise routines for patients with CVD risk factors, and physicians and patients will be satisfied with P3-EX.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of consuming grape powder on immune profiles in healthy middle- and older-aged individuals. Specifically, the investigators are interested in evaluating the potential effects of grapes in influencing markers of immune function, inflammation, and metabolism that are known to change with aging. Grapes contain several nutrients and antioxidant polyphenols such as resveratrol, quercetin, vitamin K and fiber, which are known to promote heart and immune health. However, the effects of grapes on altering immune profiles within the context of aging is not well understood. Therefore, this study will explore how daily grape consumption impacts certain markers of immunity in healthy middle- and older-aged adults. The main study procedures include consumption of a freeze-dried grape powder and control powder (which tastes the same but has none of the grape compounds that are being studied) mixed with water as a beverage on a daily basis for 4 weeks each. The investigators will additionally ask that participants avoid eating grapes and certain other antioxidant/grape-related foods and beverages throughout the 13-week study. Participants will additionally be asked to complete surveys about their diet, physical activity, and medical history, as well as provide blood samples and body weight measures throughout the course of the study. Participation in the study is expected to last about 6.25 hours over the course of 13 weeks and will include 7 visits.

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to test the efficacy of a dissonance induction intervention compared to a control group on tanning in 278 young adult tanners. The primary outcome will be tanning at 3-months. Secondary outcomes include tanning at 15-months and sunburn and sun protection use 3- and 15-months post-intervention. The main question it aims to answer is whether the intervention reduces tanning and sunburns and increases use of sunscreen among young adults who tan. Participants will be incentivized to develop sun safety and anti-tanning messaging for a social media campaign and to recruit their social ties to engage with those messages. They will then be asked to complete surveys on tanning and sun protection at baseline, 3-, and 15 months. They will also complete monthly surveys to report sunburns. The dissonance induction intervention is based on a highly effective and internationally disseminated eating disorder prevention program that has reached over 3.5 million people around the world.

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the effects of blackcurrant (BC) supplementation on changes in bone density and gut microbiome composition in postmenopausal females.

This is a one-arm pilot trial of a 12-week digitally-delivered asynchronous lifestyle intervention designed for gay men and lesbian women. After the program, we will gather feedback on the acceptability of the program and unique barriers to weight loss experienced by this population, including weight stigma.

The investigators will conduct an optimization trial among N=256 PWID newly started on medication for opioid use disorder and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to assess the performance of four intervention components (Attention, Executive Functioning, Memory, and Information Processing) aimed at enhancing the ability of PWID on MOUD to process and utilize HIV prevention content, leading to improvements in HIV prevention information, motivation, behavioral skills, and behaviors (IMB).

To examine the extent to which Cannabidiol (CBD) enhances fear conditioning extinction in college undergraduates who show elevated social anxiety. Undergraduates who display elevated social anxiety on standard assessments will be recruited at the University of Connecticut. All participants will be put in a standard fear conditioning paradigm where they are conditioned to fear a face that occasionally is followed by a shock to their wrist. The other face never is paired with a shock. After everybody learns this, half of the participants will receive 600 mg CBD Isolate Gel Capsules one time, and the other half will receive a placebo dose. Participants will then be presented with the faces with no shocks, and the rate and duration of extinction as measured by electrodermal response as well as subjective fear ratings via a visual analogue scale will be examined. It is hypothesized that participants that receive CBD will display enhanced extinction compared to the placebo group, as evidenced by reduced electrodermal response and reduced visual analogue fear ratings.

Chemsex, the use of psychoactive drugs before or during sexual activity, is a growing public health concern associated with striking increases in HIV, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study proposes to optimize an app-based just-in-time adaptive intervention, called JomCare, which aims to reduce chemsex risk by delivering tailored support when a person is most likely to be vulnerable to chemsex risk behaviors and receptive to intervention, with the purpose of reducing risk and averting new HIV infections.

The objectives of the study are to 1) Conduct telemetric biosignals (EDA, ECG, and EMG) recording in healthy controls and IBS participants experiencing cutaneous and visceral pain; and 2) Validate the OIME index as a biomarker for quantifying pain in IBS participants and its capability to assess the treatment of IBS pain via an ambulatory trial.

The proposed research will conduct the first dose-determination trial to find the optimal number of behavioral counseling sessions (dose) needed to achieve and sustain optimal HIV treatment adherence. The results of this study will determine how much intervention is needed for whom and at what cost to guide health policy and implementation of behavioral interventions designed to improve durable viral suppression.

The purpose of this work is to conduct a comparative research-focused study to evaluate the effectiveness of how purposefully induced asymmetric walking protocols restore healthy, symmetric limb loading in individuals following post-anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery. Additionally, computational modeling and machine learning to model knee loading in the clinic to determine the optimal asymmetric walking protocol to restore healthy gait in post-ACLR individuals.