IN THIS ISSUE OF JWOCN

The September/October 2016 issue of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN) is packed with a variety of cutting-edge articles that review current knowledge, present new data, or challenge current thinking within our specialty practice. Barbara Pieper and Thomas Templin report results of a study examining sleep patterns in adults with venous leg ulcers. Specifically, her group compared sleep patterns in adults who do or do not have a history of injecting drug use, leading to lower extremity wounds and differences in the impact on sleep quality. You will want to read this exciting research report to enhance your knowledge of sleep quality and factors that interfere with sleep in patients with venous leg ulcers.

Two articles in this issue follow up on a cutting-edge and controversial topic, unavoidability in pressure injuries. Margaret Baker, JoAnne Whitney, Jeanne Lowe, Solomon Liao, David Zimmerman, and Laura Mosqueda report findings from their study of an innovative process designed to demonstrate a means for identifying pressure injuries despite consistent good quality care in the long-term care setting, and the clinical characteristics of these pressure injuries. This article easily qualifies as must read for any WOC nurses whose practice includes patients managed in long-term care facilities. After reading this, I further encourage you to look back at the article by Dr Joyce Pittman and colleagues' validation study of the Indiana University Health Pressure Ulcer Prevention Inventory that focused on criteria for evaluating pressure injury avoidability in an acute care setting.1 Oscar Alvarez, Tod Brindle, Diane Langemo, Karen Kennedy-Evans, Diane Krasner, Mary Brenan, and Jeffrey Levine summarize the latest of the VCU Pressure Ulcer Summit outcomes. This panel of experts examined nomenclature, terminology, historical context, and current classifications for pressure injuries occurring near end of life and provided readers with case scenarios for defining pressure injuries in patients at end of life and in patients with multiple medical issues who are not in a palliative care situation. You will want to read this article and take the attached CE test to review your knowledge of this evolving and fascinating conversation.

Laura Harmon, Claudia Grobbel, and Maria Palleschi report a quality improvement study using a turn team assignment strategy for pressure injury prevention. Similar to the unavoidable pressure injury articles, this article is one of a string of important studies published in JWOCN that describes techniques for enhancing the effectiveness of pressure injury prevention efforts in your facility. Cheryl Lane, Cynthia Selleck, Yuying Chen, and Ying Tang report findings of a comparison cohort study examining use of an evidence-based smoking cessation intervention in patients with spinal cord injury and pressure injuries. This article is must read for several reasons: it reminds us of the profound association between smoking and impaired wound healing, it emphasizes the clinical advantages of smoking cessation on wound healing, and it provides an evidence-based approach to this relevant public health issue in all patients at risk for pressure injury, and especially those with spinal injuries.

Beverley Temple, Trevor Farley, Kristine Popik, Carisa Ewanyshyn, Elaine Beyer, and Brenden Dufault open this issue's Ostomy Care section with a well-written and valuable research report on factors associated with parastomal hernia in a large sample of community-dwelling persons with ostomies in Manitoba. You will want to read this article to learn more about this prevalent and understudied stomal complication and identify those potential risk factors that may be linked to preventive interventions.

Lynn Mohr and Rebekah Hamilton report findings from a qualitative study that provide a grounded theory of how adolescents process the experience of having an ostomy. You will want to read this research report to improve your knowledge of an appreciation for the psychosocial challenges associated with ostomy surgery in this population and improve your understanding of how adolescents incorporate a stoma into their evolving identity as an adult.

Kyle Merandy reports an integrative review that examined how our adult patients adapt to living with an ostomy. You will want to read this article not only to enhance your understanding of the modifiable and nonmodifiable factors that impact adaptation to an ostomy but also to truly appreciate the scholarly rigor that went into this rigorous review.

This issue's Continence Care section opens with an original research report authored by Gulsah Kok, Memnun Seven, Gulten Guvenc, and Aygul Akyuz, who evaluated prevalence and potential risk factors for urinary incontinence in pregnant women. This article not only reminds us of how common urinary leakage is among pregnant women, it also informs and adds to our knowledge of probable risk factors and interventions we might use to prevent and/or alleviate this bothersome condition both during pregnancy and beyond. Angela Stokes, Carolyn Crumley, Kathy Taylor-Thompson, and An-Lin Cheng report findings from a prospective, multisite study of the prevalence of fecal incontinence in hospitalized patients. This article not only expands our knowledge of the occurrence rate of this significant conditions, it also reminds us of the potential reversibility of many of the factors associated with fecal incontinence in acutely or critically ill patients.

Sema Yilmaz, Meltem Bal, Selda Celik, Gulay Rathfisch, Nezihe Beji, Nevin Dinccag, and Onay Yalcin report findings of their study of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in women with diabetes mellitus. While both conditions are known to be prevalent and negatively influence health-related quality of life, surprisingly, little research has been devoted to the evaluation of LUTS in women or men with diabetes. Read this article to increase your knowledge of the variety of LUTS experienced by diabetic women, including urinary incontinence. Mary Wilde, James McMahon, Eileen Fairbanks, Judith Brasch, Robert Parshall, Feng Zhang, Sarah Miner, Deborah Thayer, Dan Schneiderman, and Brian Harrington report results of a feasibility study evaluating a Web-based self-management intervention for persons using intermittent catheterization. You will want to read this article to determine if your patients with neurogenic bladder dysfunction might benefit from this type of intervention. Finally, Jean Mullins, Donna Bliss, Sharon Rolnick, Casey Henre, and Jody Jackson report on their study of health literacy in informal caregivers for persons with dementia. This study qualifies as must read because it expands our growing understanding of a lack of health literacy to include both the patient and her or his immediate family, extended family, or friends who provide daily care.

This issue includes 2 Challenges in Practice special feature articles that describe novel or innovative approaches to WOC specialty practice. Vita Boyar describes management of 2 neonates and 1 child with a dialkylcarbamoylchloride-coated dressing. Charleen Singh and Nancy Vierhaus describe the use of a moisture wicking fabric around drains and peripheral access lines in children for prevention of moisture-associated skin damage. Do these interventions make sense for your wound and skin care practice? Read on and find out.

This issue's Getting Ready for Certification focuses on the WOCNCB's advanced practice examinations. Given the unprecedented number of WOC nurses completing advanced practice degrees, including the DNP, I urge you to consider earning one of these cutting edge credentials.

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