Search Results Within Category "Men's Health"
Centre County COVID-19 Data 4 Action Study
The purpose of this research is to evaluate the extent of COVID-19 risk and perceived risk among Centre County residents and students, and how those risks evolve from the time isolation guidelines were implemented through a return to normal functioning.Participants in this research will complete an electronic survey with questions about their demographic, about their exposure to COVID-19, and about how COVID-19 has affected their health and work/education. Data from this research will be used to inform Centre County planning authorities and the Pennsylvania State University about the needs of communities, including needs for information dissemination and for potentially actionable, local interventions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently living in Centre County, PA.
Expect to continue living in Centre County, PA (through at least Sept 2020)
Capable of providing your own informed consent.
Effects of increased interstitial pressure on venous distension reflex
The purpose of this study is determine if an increase in interstitial pressure has an effect on the venous distension reflex.
This study involves a single visit with 2 trials.You will receive an infusion of saline in your arm before and after a procedure to cause a temporary swelling in your arm.
You will receive $25 per hour for your participation in this research study
Healthy (no major disease)
Between 21-60 years old
Weigh over 110 punds
Pregnant or nursing women
Have a major disease (heart, lungs, kidney, diabetes, cancer)
High blood pressure
Heart Rate Variability in Orthostatic Hypertension
The study will examine a condition known as orthostatic hypertension, which is a sudden increase in blood pressure when a person stands up. Orthostatic hypertension is a recognized risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. This project will also examine the differences in blood pressure responses to standing between African Americans and other races, since African Americans are more likely to develop high blood pressure than other races.
If you are eligible, you will be asked to complete the following activities in a single visit:• Lie down for 10 minutes while the team completes anelectrocardiogram (EKG) and blood pressure measurements• Stand up for 10 minutes while the team continues the EKGand blood pressure measurements
$25
Are capable of giving informed consent
Are of any race or ethnicity
Can stand for over 10 minutes
Are pregnant or nursing women
Have a history of low blood pressure with standing or passing out.
Cannot stand for 10 minutes
History of blood clots
Efficacy of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Scripts for Social Phobia
This research is conducted to test if virtual reality technology is effective to help people face their social fears and promote the use of adaptive social skills in various settings. You will be immersed in a range of virtual reality environments and work with a research therapist to learn certain skills, such as managing fears of negative evaluation during job interviews, and interacting with peers in common social settings (e.g., classrooms, cafeterias).
Experiencing significant social anxiety
Able to read, write, and understand English
Not struggling with ongoing ongoing alcohol or substance use
Not actively suicidal
Not socially anxious
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Improve Psychiatry
This study intends to improve detection of depression and anxiety by examining speech features recorded by a voice app and analyzing the voice data using cutting-edge artificial intelligence approaches. Eligible participants who are interested in this study will speak on various questions related to lifestyle choices, physical health, and mood to the voice app briefly, fill in some questionnaires, and complete a brief clinical interview. All of the procedures for this one-session study will last up to 90 minutes.If you are interested in participating, please take a few minutes to complete the screening survey: https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8CHWpLRGUrvy49D
Participants who are eligible based on the screening questionnaire will be invited to participate in a single 1.5 hour Zoom session. During this session, you will be prompted to speak about various topics to a voice app for a few minutes, fill in some questionnaires, and complete a brief clinical interview.
Up to $60 can be earned for completing the 1.5 hour Zoom session. No compensation is given for completing the screening survey.
High or low score on measures of anxiety and depression symptoms.
Daily Thought Monitoring Study for Anxiety and Depression
This study aims to assess the relations among our daily thought patterns, positive emotions, everyday experiences, and cognitive functioning abilities. Eligible participants will complete a series of online questionnaires, a short 15- to 25-minute psychological interview, and brief cognitive functioning tests at Day 1 and Day 16. All visits will occur via Zoom. In between study visits on Day 1 and Day 16, they will be prompted to complete smartphone-delivered assessments of cognitive functioning, symptoms, and experiences for 14 days, 5 times a day. This is important to inform clinicians and researchers on how best to develop effective digital mental health therapies.
During Day 1, participants will undergo a brief 15- to 25-minute clinical interview over Zoom. After the clinical interview, if participants meet the study eligibility criteria, we will continue with the procedures outlined below. Otherwise, if they are ineligible for the study, we will mention that this study is not suitable for them and provide the contact of mental health treatment services. Eligible participants will then conduct a series of self-report questionnaires and performance-based cognitive functioning tests for the next 35 minutes. Participants will then complete a series of 14-day brief ecological momentary assessments administered on their smartphone five times a day, for 14 days. Last, participants will return for a 35- to 45-minute visit on Day 15 to complete a series of self-report questionnaires and performance-based cognitive functioning tests.
15
Owns an Android or iPhone
Fluent in the English language
Scores on self-report questionnaires suggest person does or does not struggle with depression and/or anxiety
Pregnant women will be allowed to participate
Unable to consent
Younger than 18 years of age
Reports struggling with suicidal thoughts
Judged to have alcohol, substance use, and/or eating disorder
The Penn State Personalized Research for Innovation, Discovery, and Education (PRIDE) Program.
The Penn State Personalized Research for Innovation, Discovery, and Education (PRIDE) Program.The aims of the PRIDE Program are to:1. Create a centralized Biorepository using extra blood obtained from a clinically-ordered, or another IRB approved research protocol initiated blood draw, leftover biospecimens that are removed during medically indicated procedures or a saliva sample from consented participants that do not have clinically ordered blood draws or a medical procedure.2. Construct a dynamic database of health and related data (via both manual and electronic abstraction) from consented participants.3. Establish a mechanism for approving use of the banked biospecimens for future research.
The participant will meet with PRIDE Program team member in person to join the study.The participant with supply a saliva sample for the program.There is no compensation for joining the PRIDE Program.
Ability of patient, child and/or parent to understand or complete the consent process
Autonomic Control of the Circulation and the Venous Distension Reflex
This study is looking at how blood pressure control is altered by increased volume in veins.
Fluent in written and spoken English
Capable of giving informed consent
Free of acute or chronic medical conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, neuromuscular disease, kidney disease, diabetes or cancer
Able to visit Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa. for study visits
Pregnant or nursing
Currently using opioids or undergoing treatment for opioid use disorder
Living with a chronic disease such as hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, neuromuscular disease, kidney disease, diabetes or cancer
Human-Centric Non-Invasive Physiological Sensing System for Early Detection of Workers’ Heat Stress in the Field
This study will examine different structural designs of stretchable, skin-like sensors on the surface of human skin for workers.
There will be one in person visit;Subjects will first be asked to sit still for 3 minutes and then move their skin by the research team for another 3 minutes.
be over 18 years old
must understand English
resources from Penn State, University Park
Testing Responses of Young Adults to Intervention Messages (TRY AIM) Trial
The purpose of this voluntary research study is to determine the effects of different methods of promoting physical activity with wearable devices and technology.
Participants will participate in an 18-month study with virtual study visits.-Use provided digital tools (activity tracker and messages) to monitor physical activity-Set goals to increase physical activity levels based on national guidelines-Monitor weight and complete questionnaires at five times throughout the study (at the beginning, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months)
Up to $235 and a Fitbit tracker and BodyTrace scale
Participants between the ages of 18-29 years.
Participants must be free of visual impairment that would interfere with the receipt of text messages on their phone.
Participants must be willing to wear a Fitbit tracker almost continually (23.5 hours/day) for a 12- month period of time.
Participants interested in setting goals to increase their physical activity levels over the 12-month study.
Participants with contraindications to normal physical activity on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire.
Participants who require an assistive device for mobility or have any other condition that may limit or prevent participation in moderate-intensity physical activity.
Participants with a prior diagnosis of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
Participants who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant within the next 12 months.
Effects of amiloride on walking ability in patients with peripheral artery disease
The purpose of the study is to determine the effects of amiloride on the blood pressure response to walking in PAD patients and healthy controls.
In each visit, you will be asked to walk on a treadmill. You will also be asked to take capsules prior to visit 2 and 3. The capsules for one visit will be a drug called amiloride (10mg, in 2 capsules with 5mg of amiloride in each capsule), which was traditionally used to lower blood pressure. The other capsules will be a placebo (no active medication). A blood sample will be drawn at each visit.
You will receive $25 per hour for your participation in this research study
Any race or ethnicity
Healthy: Free of acute medical conditions
PAD: Diagnosis of PAD, no pain at rest
Resting blood pressure of 150/100 or higher
Already taking amiloride
Recent heart attack or epilepsy
Peripheral neuropathy
Psychological and Biological Determinants of Eating Disorder Pathology in Endurance and Aesthetic Athletes
The purpose of this study is to investigate psychobiological factors that impact the development and manifestation of eating disorder (ED) pathology in elite male and female athletes before and during their competitive season.
The purpose of this voluntary research study is to assess how changes in stress, cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, and reward delay predict the trajectory of eating disorder behaviors and associated side effects of energy deficiency from the off-season compared to the competitive season. Your participation in this study will last approximately the duration of one season of your sport, specifically 4-weeks of data collection prior to season commencement (baseline), 4-weeks of data collection during peak competition season, and 4-weeks of data collection during off-season. The total time spent in the lab will be approximately 10-14 hours. Procedures will occur three times and measurements will be taken twice following baseline measures (once during the peak competition season, once during off-season), if you agree to do so.
$50
A member of a Penn State NCAA Division 1 Sports team, or Penn State affiliated competitive club team, or competitive community sport team
Exercising without any training modifications that reduce training participation.
non-smoker
No serious of chronic health conditions
Currently a smoker or history of regular smoking (including nicotine products, e-cigarettes, vaping)
Medications influencing metabolic or endocrine factors (e.g., hormonal use in previous 6 months)
Medical instability or history of psychosis
Vasectomy (male) or Hysterectomy or oophorectomy (female)
Mental wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic: a study of essential workers and social media use
Through in-depth interviews, we examine how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the daily lives and mental well-being of essential workers, as well as their use of social media.
Social media users (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)
Adults 18 or older
Social media users
those working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic
minors (those under 18)
those who do NOT use social media
Voice Perception Study
This is a voice perception study that asks participants to listen to voices and rate on various attributes such as attractiveness, social status, health, and others.
Gender/Sex: Men/Male; Women/Female
Education: PSU students and participants recruited online
Participants who already completed the survey
Participants who took the survey on the mobile phone
Telehealth Navigation for Informed Prostate Cancer Screening in Black Men
This study is being conducted to determine whether patient navigation improves informed decision making for prostate cancer screening. Participants will be offered the opportunity to discuss and address issues related to PSA testing with a patient navigator over a one month period. Surveys at the beginning and end of this period will include health knowledge, opinions on telehealth, and barriers to health care. All sessions will be conducted virtually.
Complete short on-line questionnairesComplete at least one telehealth session with the Patient Navigator
100
ages 45 to 70
spoken english language
Examining responses to rewards in the laboratory and during daily life in individuals who smoke cigarettes
The goal of this study is to learn more about how people who smokecigarettes respond to rewards, such as winning money, under different conditions. The study uses a method called functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, which is a research method for measuring activity in the brain. In this study, we are using fMRI to measure how brain activity changes in people who smoke when they receive rewards. The fMRI measures are collected during two separate visits. Participants are also asked to fill out questionnaires and complete computer tasks while in the lab. In addition, the study involves measuring thoughts and behaviors in people who smoke in real life by asking them to fill out surveys on a smartphone. Participants are asked to carry a smartphone for a total of 10 days and answer several surveys throughout each day. In order to be eligible for the study, individuals must be between 18 and 55 years old and you must smoke on a daily basis.
Right Handed
Smokes cigarettes
Left Handed
non-smokers
Future of Construction Workplace Health Monitoring
This study will examine different structural designs of stretchable, skin-like sensors on the surface of human skin for construction workplace health monitoring.
There will be one in person visit, you will be asked to sit still for 3 minutes and then move your skin for another 3 minutes.
be over 18 years old.
must understand English.
from Penn State, University Park
cannot understand English
under 18 years old
Active Men's Study
Description: This research study is to assess energetic status, reproductive health, and bone health in a population of young exercising men. Secondarily, this study will also explore how diet, fitness, cardiovascular function, eating behaviors, stress, cognitive function, and sleep related to energy and reproductive outcomes in exercising men. Eligible young men (age 18-35) are those who are generally healthy and either a) exercising or b) not exercising.
There will be essentially 4 study visits - The first visit will include informed consent to take part in the study & completion of questionnaires and measurement of anthropometrics. Visit 2 will include tests of your metabolism, a blood draw, and assessment of diet and physical activity. Visit 3 will include tests of body composition, bone health, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, cognitive testing and reproductive function. Visit 4 will consist of a results meeting and return of wearable devices and logs.
BMI between 16-29.9 kg/m2
Non-smoker
For sedentary participants: less than 150 minutes of purposeful exercise per week
For exercising participants: at least 150 minutes of purposeful exercise per week (moderate to high intensity aerobic and/or resistance training).
Procedures using contrast material within the past 7 days, including X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans, barium studies, nuclear medicine exams.
Currently a smoker or history of regular smoking
Prostheses
Vasectomy
Effects of acid sensing ion channels blockade with amiloride on exercise pressor reflex in patients with peripheral artery disease
The purpose of the study is to determine the effects of amiloride on the blood pressure response during exercise, and exercise tolerance in patients with PAD and healthy controls.
There will be 3 in-person visits. You will take a capsule of amiloride or placebo before visits 2 and 3 and blood pressure, heart rate and other physiological measurements will be recorded.
You will receive $25 per hour for your participation in this research study
Any race or ethnicity
Healthy: Free of acute medical conditions
PAD: Diagnosis of PAD, no pain at rest
Resting blood pressure of 150/100 or higher
Already taking amiloride
Recent heart attack or epilepsy
Peripheral neuropathy
Evaluating the effectiveness of live, one-on-one musical performances on alleviating loneliness in older people
This will be a randomized controlled study to evaluate the effectiveness of live, one-on-one zoom musical performances on alleviating loneliness in older people (55 years and older) living in the Hershey, PA community. After identification of at-risk individuals, I would like to introduce live, interactive music interventions to half of the identified individuals through zoom. The other half will not receive the music intervention until the end of the study. We are planning to recruit 50 participants, allowing for 25 participants each for the experimental and control group. Loneliness scores measured before, during and after the study will be compared using the UCLA Loneliness Scale.
This project involves participating once a week in a 30-minute live music session through zoom and taking a survey regarding your feelings of loneliness. This is a randomized control study, which means that you will be randomly placed in a control group or experimental group. The experimental group will participate in music sessions once a week for 8 weeks, whereas the control group will not receive the music intervention until after 8 weeks.
Able to hear, speak, read and write in English
Able to give written consent
Are not currently hospitalized
Score a 6 or higher on a study loneliness questionaire
Respect and Satisfaction in Same-Sex Romantic Relationships
The purpose of this study is to expand on previous research looking at respect and relationship satisfaction among heterosexual relationships and compare it to that of same-sex relationships to find where they are similar or different. Participants will complete self-report measures regarding their romantic relationships, including respect toward partner, satisfaction, and attitudes toward love. 30 minutes will be required for the study.
Interpersonal contrast avoidance of anxiety and depression
This research aims to learn more about your daily thoughts, behaviors, and their impact on social relationships. We want to understand the different qualities of day-to-day thoughts, how these might affect your mood, and how this may influence how you behave in social interactions. We will first ask you to complete a set of structured questionnaires and a brief 30-minute psychological interview via Zoom. This will be followed by a training session in which you will learn how to use your smartphone to track your social interactions and related daily thoughts and behaviors eight times a day for eight days.
You will undergo an initial assessment visit conducted on Zoom, where you will provide informed consent and undergo screening through questionnaires and a brief 30-minute clinical interview. Based on your responses, we will know if you can participate in the study. If eligible, you will be invited to the second part of the study. During the second visit, you will complete a series of online questionnaires and receive a brief half-hour training session reviewing instructions on using a mobile application to complete daily surveys. When you leave this session, for the next eight days, you will complete eight (approximately 2-minute questionnaires) per day between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. On the third day, you will attend an in-person compliance check to review your progress in the present study.
$20
Scores on self-report questionnaires suggest person does or does not struggle with anxiety and/or depression
Owns a smartphone
Fluent in the English language in terms of speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Does not own a smartphone
Unable to speak, read, listen, and write English fluently.
Use of the Frequen-ZZZ Sleep Pad to Increase Restorative Sleep: A Proof-of-Concept Study
This research is a small, 8wk clinical trial testing the potential effects of an investigational device, Frequen-ZZZ/Sleepergize Sleep Pad, on the sleep of adults 40-65 years old. We aim to determine whether sleeping with the Sleep Pad, which creates an electromagnetic field around the sleeper, has an improving effect on sleep. Sleep will be primarily measured using a non-invasive clinical standard method, called polysomnography (PSG), for 6 separate nights in the personal residence of participants. Sleep will also be measured both day and night with a watch-like device that measures activity, and with surveys. We will look for changes in sleep quality, in sleep duration, and in the way that sleep is organized by the body. We will also measure changes in inflammation, which is related to sleep, from 3 blood samples collected during the study. There are 15-17 in-person appointments across the course of the study. With the data, we hope to also evaluate the feasibility and effect sizes of this non-pharmacological intervention to inform future research, and we plan to use data in support of a future FDA application for the device.
Participation involves sleeping with the investigational device, 6 separate nights of sleep monitoring in your home with standard equipment that is used in clinical settings, 3 blood draws, surveys, and wearing an activity watch, all over the course of an ~8wk participation period. There are 15-17 in-person appointments and about 15 active hours of engagement involved in the study.
$3,000.
At least some Insomnia symptoms
Living without assistance and able to sign own informed consent
Not a nocturnal shift or rotating shift-worker
English speaker/reader
Diagnosed with a sleep disorder
Pacemaker
Pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to become pregnant
Taking prescribed medication or therapy for sleep
Modifiable Prevention and Early Intervention Targets for Unhealthy Eating Behaviors: A Study in First Year Undergraduates
This is a research study investigating the prevalence and manifestation of unhealthy eating behaviors and the relationships of energetic status, cognitive function, and reproductive health in a population of first year college students.
Phase 1 will involve a minimum of 1-2 visits, and completion of surveys about your general health, exercise and nutrition history, eating behaviors and attitudes, stress, and reproductive health, as well as cognitive testing and hair sampling. For those who qualify, Phase 2 will involve approximately 4 additional visits. Each visit will be about 2 hours. The visits include completion of surveys about general health, exercise and nutrition history, eating behaviors and attitudes, stress, and reproductive health, as well as cognitive testing and physiological measurements including blood and hair sampling, and tests of metabolism. Study participation will last at minimum about 1 week, and at maximum completion of Phase 1 and Phase 2 will occur over the course of a full academic year.
$25 per visit, up to $75
Age 18-25 Years
BMI 16.5-30 kg/m2
No apparent metabolic, endocrine, or musculoskeletal disease.
Serious or chronic health condition (including thyroid illness, metabolic disease)
Unwilling to adhere to study protocol
Lactating
Does not speak English or are unable to give consent