IN THIS ISSUE OF JWOCN
This issue of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing (JWOCN) contains a deep dive into all 4 key areas of our practice. Consistent with the global reach of the JWOCN, authors contributing to this issue practice across the globe including Australia, Canada, China, Columbia, Turkey, Sweden, and the United States (Figure). Your issue opens with a Professional Practice article that cuts across all areas of WOC specialty nursing practice. Specifically, Alyson Keen, Kelli Thoele, Lisa Fite, and Shelley Lancaster describe the ethical dilemma created when a competent patient refuses clearly beneficial care such as turning and repositioning for prevention of pressure injuries. This article qualifies as must read for every nurse who cares for patients with a variety of prevalent disorders necessitating potentially painful interventions essential to wound healing, managing urinary retention or incontinence, maintaining stomal and peristomal health, to prevention of diabetic or other wounds essential for limb preservation. In addition to reading this cutting-edge article, you will want to read JWOCN Editorial Advisor and WOC Nursing Legend Dr Debra Jackson's insightful commentary concerning what constitutes an intervention, what comprises care, and the framework needed to grapple with this ongoing ethical dilemma.
This issue's Wound Care Section opens with an article from Lisa Hutlin, Ann-Christin Karlsson, Margareta Ohrvall, and Lena Ginningberg, who evaluated patient responses to a Continuous Bedside Pressure Mapping system in an Orthopedic Rehabilitation Unit. You will want to read this well-written study to improve your knowledge of how patients respond to and act upon immediate knowledge of vulnerable pressure points. Jill Campbell, Jane-Louise Cook, Anna Doubrovsky, Amanda Vann, Greg McNamara, and Fiona Coyer reported longitudinal prevalence rates of incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) in an intensive care unit. You will want to read this article to gain greater insights of IAD prevalence in this vulnerable group and identify preventable factors associated with IAD occurrences. This issue's Wound Care Section closes with a brief research report from Min Luo, Xin-hua Long, Jia-li Wu, Su-zhen Huang, and Yu Zeng, who describe findings from a retrospective study of the incidence of and risk factors for pressure injury in patients undergoing spinal surgery requiring intraoperative positioning in the prone position. You will want to read this article that explores characteristics of a woefully understudied population.
This issue's Ostomy Care Section opens with a randomized controlled trial comparing effects of standard ostomy care to a multicomponent nurse-led intervention designed for patients with a new urostomy. Authored by Haiyan Zhou, Yugang Ye, Haihong Qu, Huaxian Zhou, Shengyan Gu, and Tianhua Wang, you will want to read this timely research report to evaluate outcomes of this program and to determine its potential value in your management of patients with new ostomies. In addition, Fe Lu, Bo Deng, Linxia Xu, Meixuan Song, and Xianrong Li report findings from a cross sectional survey of first-line nurses caring for patients with intestinal ostomies. This article not only provides a timely description of first-line nurses practicing in community-based hospitals in central China, it serves as an immediate challenge to determine educational needs of generalist nurses practicing in multiple countries including the United States and Canada.
This issue's Continence Care Section opens with a cross-sectional survey of intermittent catheterization practices among nurses practicing in the United States. You will want to read this provocative article to determine gaps in the evolution of intermittent catheter choices versus current practice and to explore the need for current and evidence-based recommendations for practice in this critical area of Continence Care, including WOC-centric continence care. The second article in this issue's Continence Care Section is a well-written and cutting-edge scoping review of toileting disability in older adults residing in long-term care or assisted living facilities. This is the latest in a growing series of scoping reviews from Dr Adrian Wagg's group related to continence care in aged adults. Authored by Jasper Yeung Allyson Jones, Gian S. Jhangri, William Gibson, Kathleen Hunter, and Adrian Wagg, this article is a must read for any WOC nurse providing care for aging persons with functional limitations affecting urinary or fecal continence. Your Continence Section closes with an article authored by Firdevs Sahin, Ayise Karadag, and Pinar Avsar, who report findings from a cross-sectional study of IAD knowledge in first-line care nurses practicing in intensive care units in Turkey. You will want to read this article to gain insights into how critical care nurses view IAD in the context of their practice, and to identify gaps in knowledge crying out for WOC nurse education in all areas of the world.
This issue's Foot and Nail Care is a cross-sectional study authored by Tara Beuscher, Hollie Moe, Mary Stolder, Lois Peloquin, and Bonnie Nesbitt. This quality improvement survey not only qualifies as a must read for all nurses delivering foot and nail care, it also serves as a call for submission of your manuscript for this newest section of the JWOCN. While Section Editor Dr Tara Beuscher and Deputy Editor Dr Teresa Kelechi have provided multiple resources to launch this Section, the lifeblood of any JWOCN section is regular submissions from you and your colleagues. We eagerly await your manuscripts including single case studies, multiple case series, observational or interventional studies, and systematic, scoping, or integrative reviews!
Your first Clinical Challenges Section article was authored by Karyl Tammel, Deborah Benike, and Beth Sievers. They describe a series of 4 patients with IAD who failed to respond to first-line treatment. This article explores an understudied but essential aspect of our growing evidence base for management of IAD, second- and third-line treatments for patients refractory to first-line interventions. Read on to determine their approach to this clinical challenge and consider submitting your approach to care of patients with IAD who do not achieve resolution with first-line management. In addition to this timely multiple case series, Maria Escobar, Adriana Messa, Albaro Nieto, Maria Echavarria, and Javier Carvajal describe use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in a pregnant female with an infected surgical wound following removal of adnexal cysts. Do the outcomes achieved by these authors challenge you to consider NPWT in selected pregnant women? Read this article and challenge your scope of practice in this area of chronic wound care!
This issue also contains 2 regularly appearing features in the JWOCN. This issue's NSWOCC feature describes an indigenous WOC health care program. Authored by Catherine Harley and Beverly Smith, this timely description describes a sorely needed program to improve delivery of WOC nurse services to the indigenous population of Canada. Finally, this issue's Getting Ready for Certification feature, authored by Holly Hovan, describes testing related to assessment of factors affecting patients undergoing or living with fecal and urinary diversions. I strongly encourage you to read this ongoing JWOCN feature and seek out our Getting Ready for Certification Article Collections, archived by JWOCN Web Page Editor Dr Jody Scardillo, to evaluate your readiness for testing.