Aging populations and advancing medical technologies are driving a paradigm shift in society and in the traditional model of healthcare. Today, many families are finding it increasingly difficult to assume total responsibility for the care of family members, especially those who are elderly, and require the assistance of healthcare providers such as nurses. Under the new health paradigm, professional nurses are expected to provide state-of-the-art, increasingly complex healthcare. Educating nurses with updated nursing knowledge to take care of patients and their families can improve the quality of their acute- and long-term care as well as alleviate work-induced stress. The Journal of Nursing Research (JNR) is committed to publishing articles addressing nursing knowledge that are based on evidence-based research. The focus of the nine articles in this issue is acute and long-term care, with five applying quantitative research methods and four applying qualitative research methods.
The first article highlights the challenges of manpower in long-term care and illustrates an intergenerational learning approach from ageism to caregiving. The second presents positively associates the frequency of professionals' discussions about advance directives and life-sustaining treatments with perceived confidence in end-of-life care. Education for professionals who work in long-term care facilities should thus focus on improving their discussion skills related to end-of-life care in order to promote their confidence. The third article provides the experiences of older adults with type 2 diabetes and categorizes these into four major themes. The most important theme for nurses to pay attention to is their role as facilitators of self-care management. However, learning is needed from patients as well as nurses. The study findings in the fourth article support this, identifying the top-four education topics as: signs and symptoms, risk factors, general disease information, and medication. The sixth article found that conducting a face-to-face psychoeducational intervention protocol was potentially effective in improving knowledge, resilience, and quality of life in cancer patients currently undergoing chemotherapy. With regard to palliative care for cancer patients, the findings of the fifth article provide a deeper understanding nursing experiences.
The seventh article generates three important themes from spinal cord injury patients who experienced neuropathic pain, including elusive pain, complicated feelings about pain, and renewed hope. Therefore, nurses should be educated on the nature of neuropathic pain in order to provide thorough pain assessment. The research evidence in the eighth article supports the potential benefits of using a multidisciplinary collaborative program, which decreased the incidence of physical restraint. It is essential that healthcare professionals understand the standardized protocols and policies for physical restraint. The last article emphasizes that health professionals must learn to be sensitive and empathetic as well as create a more compassionate and caring environment. Learning about the new healthcare model can assist nurses to facilitate effective discussions with patients and their spouses in order to achieve informed, appropriate decisions.
Mei-Ling YEH
The editor declares no conflicts of interest.
https://doi.org/10.1097/jnr.0000000000000282