MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

This issue of The Journal of Nursing Research includes eight articles covering such important topics as nurse job stress related to shift rotation, employment status, and the supervisor feedback environment; filial behavior in multigeneration families; quality of life in cross-cultural families; spiritual well-being and health-related behavior in people with chronic illness; and the efficacy of cleaning practices for small-volume nebulizers. The three articles related to nursing management issues encapsulate the major underlying theme of this issue. These articles address the effect of shift rotation on nurse health, correlations between employment status and job attitude and job performance in nurses, and the effect of supervisor feedback on work-related stressors. Niu et al.'s article further considers the dynamic relationships between physical and psychological factors in shift rotation. Findings show that disturbed circadian rhythm correlates with a variety of mental and physical disorders. A related study by Chu and Hsu investigated the work status of contract versus full-time nurses to assess the impact on work-related attitudes, organizational citizenship behavior, and job performance. Results found a positive relationship between the variables and no significant difference in work-performance status between contract and full-time nurses. The related article by Peng et al. illustrates that deviant behavior is suppressed when nurses perceive an appropriate supervisor-provided feedback environment due to related reductions in work-related stressors. Results suggest that the healthfulness and supportiveness of the environment for nurses working in hospitals should be given greater attention to enhance nurse professionalism and performance. The findings of these three studies represent important guideposts that can help nursing administrators identify potential physical and psychological risks to nurses and risks to patient safety due to shift-rotation scheduling and the differing effects of work attitudes on job performance in contract and full-time nurses. The important role played by supervisor feedback in releasing work-related stress was also highlighted. Liu et al.'s article discusses differences in filial behavior in multigeneration families. Another illustrates the differences in quality of life among women from different cultural backgrounds (Vietnam and Taiwan) living in Taiwan. Also in this issue, Lin et al. use employment synthesis to understand the nature of spiritual well-being in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Their findings add to the relatively sparse understanding of the nature of spiritual well-being, which includes living with disease, reclaiming control, reframing the situation, and bolstering courage. Taiwan faces a higher mortality rate from type 2 diabetes than faced by other developed countries. On the topic of the health promotion, Chen et al. use a descriptive correlational design to examine the factors that impact health-related behaviors. Their findings indicate that participating in community support groups, better foot self-care capacity, and frequent exercise are associated with better health condition. Finally, the rigorous work-sampling methodology used by Tai et al. examines the efficacy of different reagents and application methods in the cleaning of small-volume nebulizers. Findings from their six-group comparative study provide strong evidence in support of using one particular technique to clean small-volume nebulizers. Pei-Fan Mu