The quality of professional nursing practices greatly impacts the health outcomes and the quality of life of patients. The quality of the practice environment and the work life for nurses are supporting factors that influence the delivery of nursing care that is safe, evidence based, and high quality. At the same time, education for nursing students and registered nurses is important for ensuring the quality of professional nursing practices. This issue of the Journal of Nursing Research includes several original studies on the working environment and quality of work life of nurses. Lin, Lu, and Huang developed a set of indicators for quality nursing work environments in Taiwan. Teng, Chang, Lu, and Chou developed and conducted psychometric testing on a Chinese version of a professional practice environment scale. Hsu developed an instrument for measuring quality of working life among hospital nurses and Dai, Tang, Chen, and Yu translated and validated the Chinese version of a work-related quality of life scale for nurses. As many hospitals have embraced information technology (IT) to promote the effectiveness of nursing care and of nursing administration tasks, Lin, Lin, Hsu, Roan, Yeh, and Cheng explored the usage behavior and intention stability of nurses with regard to nursing information systems. In terms of nursing education, Chan, Chair, Sit, Wong, Lee, and Fung examined the effects of a case-based web learning activity on university nursing students in Hong Kong. Heydari, Yaghoubinia, and Roudsari investigated the multidimensional nature of relationships between Iranian nursing students and educators. Chang, Yu, Loh, and Chang examined the efficacy of an in-service education program in enhancing the effectiveness for nurses of using physical restraints on patients.
In addition, two original papers on the management of chronic illness are also included in this issue. Wakimizu and Fujioka explored the issues and needs of the parents of children with developmental disabilities in Japan. Wang, Yang, Feng, Cao and Chen investigated the prevalence, clinical features, and related nursing strategies of hypertension in patients with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome.
Yea-Ing Lotus Shyu
The Editor declares no conflicts of interest.
doi:10.1097/01.JNR.0000479806.24026.35