The Challenges in Clinical Care Issue for The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing (JPNN) focuses on a diverse array of articles. Within the perinatal section, access to healthcare in rural areas, care for healthcare providers during the COVID-19 crisis, and challenges with gender care, obstetric triage, and sepsis compose this issue.
A commentary by Wright et al, "Cultivating Resilience Among Perinatal Care Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic," illuminates the need for more ways to build resilience in perinatal care providers. Using a scoping review approach, the evidence show a paucity of studies on this subject and the critical need to address this in future research endeavors.
Two articles focus on crucial, current challenges regarding access and gender issues: "Meeting the Challenge of Perinatal Care in Rural Communities" and "Clinically and Culturally Competent Care for Transgender and Nonbinary People." Barton and Anderson present the complexities of providing quality perinatal care within rural communities. Challenges and solutions are put forth. Roosevelt et al discuss transgender and nonbinary people's experience with high rates of discrimination and stigma in healthcare settings that affects well-being. The focus of this article is to provide guidance to those providers caring for such clientele.
The last 2 articles focus on challenges within the clinical arena. "Challenges in the Triage Care of Low-Risk Laboring Patients: A Comparison of 2 Models of Practice" by Breman et al is presented. This research study provides context for nurse-midwives as labor triage providers for healthy low-risk pregnant individuals and explores triage outcomes in a community hospital by type of provider staffing obstetric triage. The other is the Continuing Education (CE) article, "Current Key Challenges in Managing Maternal Sepsis," by Roberts et al. Newer and more recent clinical challenges are documented, and key strategies and solutions are suggested.
The Journal welcomes you to peruse the Perinatal Expert Opinion column, as well as Legal Issues and Risk Management and Breastfeeding/Nutrition. Parting Thoughts is also a wonderful back-page for JPNN readers!
Perinatal and neonatal nurses are skilled in finding solutions and overcoming the unique and complex challenges associated with providing care to patients during labor and birth and in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Thus, this issue of The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing (JPNN) is focused on challenges in clinical care. In the neonatal section of the journal, we learn about challenges ranging from health equity concerns associated with breastfeeding among African American women to managing neonatal pain during heelstick procedures, which are increasingly common among NICU patients. Supporting mothers and infants in meeting their breastfeeding goals, especially when the infant is preterm, is often challenging. Mei-Ling Fu reports on a novel e-learning program for breastfeeding tested in Taiwan, and JoAnne Silbert-Flagg reports on a breastfeeding plan of care for the late preterm infant from birth through discharge. All of these articles will enrich our readers' understanding of some of the common challenges that neonatal nurses overcome in the care they provide to patients and their families.
As always, we are grateful to our columnists. Lisa Steurer, our Expert Opinion Neonatal columnist, has provided an interesting and timely submission on a pregnant mother and healthcare worker's COVID-19 experience. This column sheds light on some of the many challenging issues that healthcare workers have experienced and overcome over the past year while navigating the pandemic.
Please consider submitting a manuscript to one of our upcoming issues. As always, we welcome new and experienced authors alike! And, please let us know if you or a colleague would be interested in contributing to the journal as one of our peer reviewers. We are always interested in expanding our panel of peer reviewers and are happy to orient new reviewers to the manuscript review process. Thank you for considering this opportunity to contribute to JPNN.
-Diane J. Angelini, EdD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN
Perinatal Editor
-Katherine Gregory, PhD, RN, FAAN
Neonatal Editor