This issue of The Journal of Nursing Research includes eight articles that focus on such important topics as the impact of living arrangements and healthcare utilization on mortality among the middle aged and elderly, factors influencing sleep quality in the elderly, quality of life in middle-aged and older patients with rheumatoid arthritis, adaptation of elderly individuals to long-term care settings, effectiveness of acupuncture on pain and mobility in patients with osteoarthritis, the prenatal care behavior of female immigrants from Southeast Asia, leadership styles of nurses and head nurses, and a learning outcome evaluation conducted on a doctoral course.

Specifically, five articles are related to healthcare issues concerning the middle aged and elderly as well as patients with chronic illnesses. In Taiwan, those over the age of 65 years already represents more than 10% of the total population. An increasingly elderly population is a concern that Taiwan shares with many countries around the world. To deal with issues and problems associated with an aging society, a ten-year long-term care project was proposed in 2007 and launched at the beginning of this year. As nursing professionals, we should not only be involved in the project but also conduct research to promote life quality for the elderly. These five articles help highlight the significant roles and functions handled by nurses in long-term and elderly care.

Rapid growth in the number of female immigrants from Southeast Asia over the past decade has altered Taiwan's social and demographic structures. Rising cultural diversity in Taiwanese society argue that nurse researchers should become more involved in exploring the health issues faced by Taiwan's most recent arrivals. An article on the prenatal care behavior of Southeast Asian female immigrants offers guidelines to nursing care professionals for providing culturally sensitive and appropriate health care to these women.

Two of the first authors of papers in this issue are from the public health and business sectors, demonstrating that the JNR is a journal valued not only by nursing researchers, but by researchers from other disciplines as well. In the near future, we hope that the JNR will draw attention from a wider number of international researchers and encourage their contributions and sharing.