IN THIS ISSUE OF JWOCN

This issue of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN) provides the latest research and evidence-based clinical practice needed to ensure your daily practice is cutting edge. Authors from Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States contributed to this issue. Adding to our tradition of cutting-edge articles spanning the breadth of WOC specialty practice, I am particularly pleased to announce the addition of a 4th Platform Section-Foot and Nail Care. This is the first to be added to the JWOCN since I assumed responsibilities as Editor-in-Chief in 1995.1 I am more excited to announce that Dr Tara Beucher will assume responsibilities as Section Editor. You will want to read her inaugural commentary that describes the purpose and goals of this new section, and her first article reviewing guidelines for diabetic foot care. Look for a concentration of continuing education (CE) from this section essential to your practice as a certified foot and nail nurse, or as a study guide should you wish to add this credential to your professional portfolio.

Your Wound Care Section opens with an innovative and thought-provoking article from Mary Mahoney and Barbara Rozenboom, who describe a condition they label "chronic tissue injury," and differentiate it from a number of conditions affecting the perineal skin including moisture-associated skin damage, pressure injuries, and others. I personally applaud Mary Mahoney and Barbara Rozenboom for the innovation, hard work, and resolution required to take a clinical observation and propose characteristics for identifying it as a unique form of skin damage. JWOCN Deputy Editor Dr Kelechi and I deemed this article so important that she has written a Commentary about this phenomenon. I strongly encourage you to read both the article and Dr Kelechi's commentary and form your own opinion about chronic tissue injury.

Mary Arnold Long and Emily Johnson report an epidemiologic study of community- and facility-acquired incontinence-associated dermatitis and intertriginous dermatitis (ITD, also referred to as intertrigo). You will want to read this lucid research report that provides much needed information concerning prevalence and incidence of ITD in particular, given the almost complete absence of evidence concerning this common form of skin damage.

Yina Han, Yinji Jin, Taixin Jin, Sun-Mi Lee, and Ju-Young Lee report a robust case control study comparing clinical outcomes in 1000 cases (patients with facility-acquired pressure injuries) versus 4000 controls (patients without pressure injuries). You will want to read this article to identify the clinically relevant influence of pressure injury on mortality, hospital length of stay, and emergency department readmission.

This issue's Ostomy Section comprises a View From Here commentary concerning resumption of physical activity following creation of an abdominal stoma. Authored by Sarah Russell, this commentary beautifully presents the argument that severe physical activity restrictions do not promote long-term adaptation to an ostomy, bolstered by a specific program designed to reintroduce physical activity during the early postoperative period.

Your Continence Care Section opens with a fascinating study that describes the availability of public toilets in 8 cities located across the United States. In addition to describing the availability of public toilets in these geographically diverse cities, Yung Park and Donna Bliss raise an important point about continence care in your local community. Have you mapped public toilets in your town or city? What have you done in your local community to advocate for expanding this important issue for your patients suffering from urinary incontinence? Have you considered the availability of safe and clean individual stalls in public toilets for women in particular? Read on and consider this essential but undervalued form of public advocacy for our patients with incontinence or bowel and bladder dysfunction.

I am excited to announce the WOCN Society's updated statement on the role of the tri-specialty WOC nurse in continence care. Authored by Christine Berke, Mary Jo Conley, Deb Netsch, Lynette Franklin, Eric Goodman, Cindy Shephard, and Donna Thompson, this document is a landmark in the sometimes fraught relationship between WOC nursing practice and the focus and scope of continence practice. Whether you are a WOC nurse, an ostomy/wound nurse seeking to re-establish full scope practice, or a continence nurse specialist, this statement from the WOCN Society qualifies as refreshing and insightful must read.

Lori Saiki and Robin Meize-Grochowski report their study of the effect of urinary incontinence on relationships between women and their intimate partners. You will want to read this innovative study and broaden your knowledge of this seldom studied but critically important sequela of urinary incontinence.

This issue presents 2 Clinical Challenges articles focusing on wound care. Kimberly Hall describes three cases of patients with chronic wounds complicated by infection and managed with negative pressure wound therapy (vacuum-assisted closure) and intermittent instillation of normal saline or an antiseptic solution. You will want to read these interesting cases to determine the clinical relevance of this variant of negative pressure therapy in your patient population. Your second Clinical Challenges was authored by Susan Solmos, Olga Radekevich-Brown, and Cynthia Lafond who describe 3 cases where an initial diagnosis of deep tissue pressure injury was changed following consultation and in-depth assessment by a wound care nurse. You will want to read this lucid description of the critical thinking and stepwise approach used to confirm the propose diagnosis, and the author's selective use of dermatologic consultations in particular.

Finally, this issue's Getting Ready for Certification focuses on foot care basics, a particularly timely topic given our launch of the new Foot and Care Section. Authored by Clay Collins, you will want to read this popular column in JWOCN and test your knowledge of this fundamental component of WOC care.

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