This issue of The Journal of Nursing Research includes a diverse range of research designs, including one qualitative study, four cross-sectional studies, two experimental studies, and one mixed-methods study. Each design generates evidence from a distinct perspective and contributes to the overall body of nursing knowledge.
Three articles are particularly applicable to the clinical practices of pediatric and school nurses. Wang, Brown, and Horner conducted a qualitative study to investigate the school-based living experiences of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes. They suggest the need for interventions that facilitate autonomy, self-efficacy, diabetes knowledge, disease identity, and the handling of situational obstacles. Tang, Chen, and Wang found evidence that school support and self-care behaviors directly affect life satisfaction. They further found that school support also affects life satisfaction through the mediation of self-care behaviors. Results of these two studies support the notion that school is an important contextual factor for adolescents with Type 1 diabetes.
Chang, Liu, and Huang found that 47.2% of parents in their study incompletely understood physician/nurse-provided healthcare information on pediatric fever. This highlights that parents in Taiwan need better-presented information about pediatric fever in order to better care for their children.
A cross-sectional study conducted by Suen, Lee, and Morris found that family members generally scored higher on life-sustaining treatment preferences than did the older adults under their care. Communication between older adults and their family members regarding life-sustaining treatment is necessary to prevent older adults from receiving unwanted treatments.
In the first of two experimental studies published in this issue, Lin and colleagues found that illness management may improve treatment-related illness knowledge, insight, and affective-domain psychology in patients with schizophrenia. The second experimental study, conducted by Strupeit and colleagues, indicated that nursing consultation does not improve the functional status of older people with functional mobility impairments and has almost no effect on quality of life.
Improving quality of care is an important issue for nursing managers. Two articles in this issue address nursing services. Chuang, Chung, and Liu found substantial gaps in knowledge and preparation for case management practice among public health nurses. Lin, Huang, and Lu applied mixed methods and found nurse-to-bed ratios and nursing hours to be valid indicators of nursing manpower allocation needs. These results provide useful information for nursing managers to improve quality of care.
Publishing research findings advances evidence-based practice, and researchers have a responsibility to report their findings. The dedication and professionalism of nursing researchers is crucial to facilitating an expanding body of nursing knowledge and benefitting general public health.
Ruey-Hsia Wang