Welcome to the Journal of Addictions Nursing's (JAN's) fall issue, 32(4). In this issue, we have a number of original research articles, an International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) position paper, and our columns. Dr. Christine Vourakis writes a Guest Editorial, and the Innovative Roles interview is with Dr. Vourakis as well, as an Editor Emeritus of JAN.
We present the IntNSA's position paper on "Care of Individuals Who Identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and/or Queer, Intersex, or Asexual (LGBTQQIA+)." Nurses in all practice settings are likely to encounter and care for individuals within gender or sexual minority groups. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or queer, intersex, or asexual (LGBTQQIA+) is an umbrella term encompassing the aforementioned individuals with a sexual orientation or gender identity that falls outside traditional categories while also accounting for individuals who identify with a sexual orientation or gender identity not included in the acronym. When addressing substance use disorders with vulnerable populations, it is important to consider the health needs and risks of nontraditional, marginalized sexual, and gender minority groups. This position paper was developed as a result of an in-person session at IntNSA's 2019 conference, in which conference participants were asked to actively participate in the discussion to identify key themes to be included in the position statement.
The risk of compassion fatigue (CF) for professionals who support and care for individuals and families facing the burden of addiction and trauma has been recognized. Next, Dr. Missourido and colleagues' aim to investigate CF, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction in addiction nursing care providers. The Professional Quality of Life Scale was distributed to addiction nurses and assistants in the alcohol and drug dependency centers in Greece. High CF risk was reported in 22% of participants, whereas 46% expressed high-to-moderate potential for compassion satisfaction. The authors suggest that a compassionate organizational culture, clinical supervision, and ongoing education may protect addiction professionals from CF.
Next, Audrey Clark, MSN, and Jason Lucey, DNP, present information on safe consumption sites (SCSs), where people may consume previously obtained drugs under observation. The objective of their article is to describe and synthesize the roles of nurses at SCSs to better understand their importance in a rapidly proliferating public health intervention. They identified three analytical themes about the character of these roles: (a) The primary aim of SCS nursing care is to reduce morbidity and mortality; (b) SCS nurses create a therapeutic community; and (c) SCS nurses engage in research, professional activities, and activism to better understand and promote SCSs. They conclude that more research into the roles of SCS nurses is needed.
Next, Dr. Noonan and colleagues look at rural older adults who are an underserved population with high rates of smoking and related morbidity and mortality. Their study addressed whether depression and nicotine dependence are related to executive dysfunction in rural older adult smokers. The sample included 40 rural older adults recruited from two primary care clinics in North Carolina. Analysis of variance was used to explore whether depression and/or nicotine dependence influences executive function; they found that people who smoke who screened positive for depression had significantly greater executive dysfunction than those who did not.
In the Innovative Roles column, Dr. Joan Kub interviews Dr. Christine Vourakis, editor emeritus of the JAN. She discusses the history of the journal and outlines numerous milestones in the journal's history.
In Stories From the Field, Mahsa Khoshnam Rad and colleagues report on a case of a mother with a substance use disorder who becomes infected with COVID-19 during her pregnancy. In this case, because of the flu-like symptoms of substance withdrawal and postpartum causes of shortness of breath, the medical team's attention was drawn to these symptoms. SARS-CoV-2 infection should be considered as a differential diagnosis for pregnant patients.
Finally, in Perspectives, Shari Harding utilizes a case study format to show and discuss concepts related to client engagement in recovery and overcoming stigma. The article describes how addiction nurses can leverage a person-centered and recovery-oriented approach to promote engagement and positive problem solving with the client and the care team. So hopefully, you will find something of interest and relevance to you within this new issue. As always, we strive to bring you up-to-date information that will be useful to you for your continuing education, research endeavors, and/or clinical practice.