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Abstract (1) Background Brain cancer is the ninth leading cause of cancer death in the US, with approximately 76,000 newly diagnosed cases annually. Studies show that at time of diagnosis, up to six-months post-treatment, 50%–80% of brain cancer survivors (BCS) report cognitive dysfunction. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has gained increasing attention as a persistent disability experienced by up to 75% of all BCS, which affects memory, concentration, executive function, etc. Studies show cognitive training with computerized gaming as improving cognitive function for patients with stroke, dementia, and Parkinson’s. It is of significant clinical interest to develop innovative interventions that reduce MCI. Aim: To improve cognitive performance of BCS suffering with MCI by evaluating the feasibility, acceptability and effect of a Virtual Reality Cognitive Rehabilitation Training (VR-CRT) platform during four weeks of cognitive training (2) Methods We employed a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest non-randomized/non-blinded single-arm design for 4 weeks, with an experimental group (n=6, after attrition) using VR-CRT. Participants were selected based on convenience sampling using the electronic medical record to identify qualified patients, guided by inclusion/exclusion criteria. Feasibility was defined by retention as >80%, with usability testing using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and NASA-TLX surveys. The Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT), Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA) test, and Trail Making A-B (TM-A/B) test were used to measure cognitive performance, comparing baseline to post week-four. (3) Results The feasibility criteria of >80% was met. All SUS and NASA scores were in the higher index, suggesting a high degree of usability, with low workload demand. For effect, the COWA findings showed a significant improvement (41.38%), with a paired sample T-Test confirming that the participants’ COWA scores improved significantly from pre- to post-intervention ( p = 0.03), indicating enhanced verbal fluency and executive functioning after intervention. HVLT (combined) showed improvements of 18.75% for Form A and 11.32% for Form B, which also showed a significant improvement ( p = .04) in the retention discrimination index from pre- to post-test. The TM-A/B test showed an improvement (25.97%), suggesting that the participants spent less time completing both parts A and B, but was not statistically significant. (4) Conclusion This study fulfilled our aim to demonstrate modest to significant cognitive improvement using VR-CRT with brain cancer patients with MCI. Despite the small sample size, we believe the use of virtual reality will lead to important advances for patients with MCI, particularly the frontal lobe brain region, expressed in executive function.

This study has been designed to determine the perceived challenges of the editors of the Higher Education Commission (HEC)-recognized OA and non-OA journals in Pakistan regarding OA publishing. This study used a quantitative research approach and used a survey method to collect data from the editors of all 329 HEC-recognized OA and non-OA journals in Pakistan. A majority of the respondents exposed ‘no academic and monetary reward for the editorial staff; and ‘insufficient financial resources for OA publishing’ as enormous challenges for OA journal publishing. A majority of the respondents of non-OA journals were of the view that insufficient facilities for training and guidance for OA journal publishing and the reluctance of the editorial board to initiate OA publishing were the major reasons for not following OA journal publishing. This study may draw the attention of policymakers to address the challenges faced by Pakistani journals’ editors.

This study has been designed to explore the leading countries and continents in open access (OA) initiatives regarding OA journals, indexing of journals in Web of Science and Scopus, institutional repositories (IRs), OA policies, and leading universities in OA initiatives worldwide. It compares and analyses the OA initiatives of the leading continents and countries of the world and, importantly, of Pakistan and its neighbouring leading countries in OA initiatives. This study relies on two research methods: a narrative literature review and a survey of the websites. The websites’ survey of the Registry of Open Access Repository, the Directory of Open Access Journals, and the Repository of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies was also conducted to meet the objectives of the study. It was exposed that the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Iran, and so forth have emerged as leading contributors in OA initiatives in terms of OA journals, IRs, and OA policies in their respective continents. The majority of universities of the leading countries in OA initiatives have adopted the Green model of OA to prompt the OA publishing paradigm for a wider readership, more citations, and free access to scholarly literature. In the Pakistani neighbourhood, Iran was leading in OA initiatives, followed by India, China, Pakistan, and so forth. The present study is a comprehensive exploration of the prevalence of OA landscape geographically in leading countries and continents in terms of OA journals, indexing of journals in Web of Science and Scopus, IRs, OA policies, and leading universities in OA initiatives worldwide and with respect to Pakistani neighbouring leading countries. This study may encourage the developing countries, policymakers, higher educational institutions, and universities to adopt the OA initiatives by competing with leading contributors in OA initiatives.

Background: Cancer patients admitted to the bone marrow transplant (BMT) unit face life-threatening medical conditions. Consequently, their family members experience uncertainty, resulting in high levels of anxiety and depression (AD). Limited updates and communication from medical staff exacerbate these emotional burdens. To address these challenges, we developed a mobile health (mHealth) intervention, FamCarePlus, and evaluated its feasibility, usability, and efficacy. We hypothesized that the FamCarePlus application would demonstrate a high degree of feasibility and usability and would reduce AD compared to a control group relying solely on traditional communication through the nurses’ station. Methods: We employed a quasi-experimental pretest/posttest non-randomized, non-blinded self-report design over 3 weeks, with an experimental group (n = 10) using FamCarePlus and a control group (n = 9). We selected participants via convenience sampling using the electronic medical record to identify eligible patients and families, guided by inclusion and exclusion criteria. We used descriptive statistics and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) guidelines to analyze the data. Feasibility was defined by a retention rate > 80%, with usability testing using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) surveys. The HADS measured AD, comparing baseline to Week 3. Results: We met our feasibility criteria of >80%. All SUS and NASA scores were in the higher index, suggesting a significant degree of usability and low workload demand on participants. For efficacy, we compared baseline mean scores, with the experimental group reporting lower AD levels at Week 1 (41.9% and 27.8%, respectively) than the control group (55.2% and 34.2%, respectively). From Week 1 to Week 3, the percentage change showed an 8.6% decrease in anxiety in the experimental group, compared to a 12.8% decrease in anxiety in the control group. These results were consistent when analyzed according to HADS guidelines. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide preliminary evidence that the FamCarePlus intervention is feasible and usable, while also demonstrating that its use may be associated with a sustained reduction in AD levels among family members of patients admitted to the BMT unit. These outcomes underscore the potential of digital interventions to address disparities in patient health information access and psychosocial support.