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Taking a patient's temperature is a common procedure, but not one that should be taken for granted. Accurate technique is essential for accurate readingswhich are critical for guiding treatment decisions for patients with hypothermia, hyperthermia, or pyrexia. Here's what you need to know. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research-based protocol might change the way you give intramuscular injections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The output of scholarly publications in scientific literature has increased exponentially in recent years. This increase in literature has been accompanied by an increase in retractions. Although some of these may be attributed to publishing errors, many are the result of unsavory research practices. The purposes of this study were to identify the number of retracted articles in nursing and reasons for the retractions, analyze the retraction notices, and determine the length of time for an article in nursing to be retracted., Design: This was an exploratory study., Methods: A search of PubMed/MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Retraction Watch databases was conducted to identify retracted articles in nursing and their retraction notices., Results: Between 1997 and 2022, 123 articles published in the nursing literature were retracted. Ten different reasons for retraction were used to categorize these articles with one-third of the retractions (n = 37, 30.1%) not specifying a reason. Sixty-eight percent (n = 77) were retracted because of an actual or a potential ethical concern: duplicate publication, data issues, plagiarism, authorship issues, and copyright., Conclusion: Nurses rely on nursing-specific scholarly literature as evidence for clinical decisions. The findings demonstrated that retractions are increasing within published nursing literature. In addition, it was evident that retraction notices do not prevent previously published work from being cited. This study addressed a gap in knowledge about article retractions specific to nursing., (© 2023 Sigma Theta Tau International.)

Background: Predatory publishers and their associated journals have been identified as a threat to the integrity of the scientific literature. Research on the phenomenon of predatory publishing in health care remains unquantified., Purpose: To identify the characteristics of empirical studies on predatory publishing in the health care literature., Methods: A scoping review was done using PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus databases. A total of 4967 articles were initially screened; 77 articles reporting empirical findings were ultimately reviewed., Results: The 77 articles were predominantly bibliometric analyses/document analyses (n = 56). The majority were in medicine (n = 31, 40%) or were multidisciplinary (n = 26, 34%); 11 studies were in nursing. Most studies reported that articles published in predatory journals were of lower quality than those published in more reputable journals. In nursing, the research confirmed that articles in predatory journals were being cited in legitimate nursing journals, thereby spreading information that may not be credible through the literature., Conclusion: The purposes of the evaluated studies were similar: to understand the characteristics and extent of the problem of predatory publishing. Although literature about predatory publishing is abundant, empirical studies in health care are limited. The findings suggest that individual vigilance alone will not be enough to address this problem in the scholarly literature. Institutional policy and technical protections are also necessary to mitigate erosion of the scientific literature in health care., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Reviews in the nursing scientific literature have steadily expanded in scope and range. This has resulted in a variety of terms used to describe these reports found in bibliographic databases, creating confusion. This study investigated the status of reviews in the published nursing literature, including: (1) number of reviews; (2) conventions related to naming and description; (3) publication location; and (4) areas of clarity and inconsistency. Eighty-five percent of reviews (n = 5893) included in this study adhered to an identified review strategy, complete with a clear approach. The remainder (n = 981, 15%) did not. Authors of reviews must follow the identified protocol for their review type and share all relevant information including standards and rigor. Editors and peer reviewers need to possess up-to-date knowledge on methodologies associated with specific review types., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The purpose of this retrospective, correlational pilot study was to explore the relationship between historical weekly weather data including temperature, dew point, humidity, barometric pressure, visibility, and cloud cover compared to weekly influenza-like illness reports over a four year period., Background: Climate and weather-related conditions may affect the viral activity and transmission of influenza, although this relationship has not been widely studied in nursing. Some research suggests that there are causal links between cold temperatures, low indoor humidity, minimal sun exposure, and influenza outbreaks. Additionally, rapid weather variability in a warming climate can increase influenza epidemic risk., Methods: Data from a local public health district were extracted and used to correlate with weekly weather averages for the area., Results: Findings showed that current influenza reports are significantly associated with temperature and visibility, both lagged two weeks., Conclusions: Though more research is needed, nurses must understand, recognize, and act upon weather and climate factors that affect the health of populations. With a greater understanding of the relationship between weather and influenza-like illness, nurses and other healthcare providers can potentially work to respond to and mitigate the consequences of weather-related illness as well as anticipate and prepare for increased flu burden. Furthermore, nurses can remain engaged in climate protective initiatives and policy development at their local community and/or organizational levels to underscore and advocate for the needs of populations and groups they serve., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Accuracy of cited references in scholarly publications gives credit to original authors and offers information for readers to access sources for additional review. Errors in this foundational information can, at a minimum, create confusion and additional burden for consumers; at worst, these errors can make it impossible to locate the original work. For systematic and other types of reviews, finding relevant studies is critical for comprehensiveness and accuracy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of cited references in a curated data set of 100 articles from 100 different nursing journals. From these articles, a sample of references for analysis (n = 666) was created. From this total, only 8 references (1.3%) could not be retrieved at all. Small numbers of references (≤3%) had errors in the author name, journal title, article title, or year, but these did not prevent retrieval. These small numbers suggest that use of current technology including electronic databases and reference management software has improved overall accuracy in reference lists. An unexpected finding was the discovery of enhanced reference lists for online articles at publisher sites. These provide at least 1 and as many as 5 direct links to cited articles, thus increasing accuracy and ease of retrieval. Implications for authors, editors, and publishers are discussed., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Abstract: Nursing journals offer important content on new practices and approaches to care. Unfortunately, predatory journals that use unsavory publication practices have emerged. This article shares guidance to help nurses effectively appraise information and their sources, distinguish predatory from legitimate journals, and conduct due diligence., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Timeliness and number of references in written work is often a topic of controversy. Decisions about choice of references become complex when there is little recent published information or a great deal of important historical work on a topic., Purpose: The study aim was to develop a framework to guide authors to determine the number and currency of references to support their writing., Methods: This study used a descriptive design with three steps: review of journal author information for guidance about reference currency (n = 247); correspondence with journal editors (n = 27); and a survey of nurse educators (n = 44) regarding currency and number of references in written assignments., Results: Findings affirmed that recent literature is vital for nursing scholarship. Numerical guidelines offered were not based on identifiable consensus or rationale. Historical perspectives published over 5 or 10 years earlier are valued, even sometimes required. For a clinical paper, citation of the most current literature is viewed by editors and educators as essential, and may suffice., Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study and our search of the literature, we developed three decision making algorithms for searching the literature and selecting references by currency and number.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which academic promotion and tenure (APT) criteria and guidelines in schools of nursing recognize predatory publishing. This assessment included an analysis of APT documents looking specifically for guidance about predatory publications by faculty in schools of nursing., Design: This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive design and was conducted in 2020., Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to collect data from two sources. Data were extracted from APT documents for 92 research-intensive universities found online and specifically focused on documents for universities and for schools of nursing in the United States. Interviews were conducted with a subsample of academic administrators (n = 10) from selected schools., Findings: The majority (57%; n = 50) of APT documents reviewed addressed quality of the journals in which faculty publish. However, very nonspecific terms, such as "high quality" or "peer reviewed" were used. None of the documents reviewed (n = 88) included any reference to predatory journals. Deans who were interviewed validated the analysis of the APT documents. While most deans reported faculty were aware of predatory journals and the risks of publishing in them, formal guidelines for consequences for publishing in predatory journals were not developed or available., Conclusion: This study examined how schools of nursing in research-intensive universities address the issue of predatory journals. APT criteria do not provide guidance to faculty and promotion and tenure committees about issues related to predatory publications as low-quality publication outlets. Recommendations for APT committees, mentors, and faculty are provided., Clinical Relevance: Clinicians rely on researchers, many of whom are faculty, to publish rigorous studies that produce evidence they can translate into practice. One measure of the quality of a study's findings is where the paper is published and reflects the level of peer review it has been through. Faculty who publish in predatory journals may not have had their work reviewed by experts; evidence produced may or may not be adequate for translation to guide nursing practice., (© 2021 Sigma Theta Tau International.)

The quality of literature used as the foundation to any research or scholarly project is critical. The purpose of this study was to analyze the extent to which predatory nursing journals were included in credible databases, MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Scopus, commonly used by nurse scholars when searching for information. Findings indicated that no predatory nursing journals were currently indexed in MEDLINE or CINAHL, and only one journal was in Scopus. Citations to articles published in predatory nursing journals are not likely found in a search using these curated databases but rather through Google or Google Scholar search engines., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Objective: For the past 30 years there has been a growing emphasis on evidence as the primary or exclusive basis for nursing practice., Methods: Critical examination of literature related to evidence-based practice from the 1990s to the present., Results: This review of the nursing literature from the 1990s to the present reveals that in the midst of the movement to promote evidence-based practice as the gold standard, there have been persistent expressions of concern. These concerns are (a) lack of alignment of evidence-based practice with nursing's disciplinary perspective; (b) wrongful privileging of empirical knowledge over other sources of knowledge; (c) underappreciation of the complexity of practice and practice wisdom;(d) possibilities of evidence-based practice thwarting innovation and creativity;(e) vulnerabilities of empirical evidence to be flawed, inconsistent, and influenced by competing interests; (f) situational realities that limit access to and critical appraisal of evidence that access to and critical appraisal of evidence is not feasible or practical; and (g) lack of relationship of evidence-based practice to theory., Conclusions: We call for a recalibrated practice epistemology that promotes a greater appreciation for the myriad sources of knowledge for nursing practice, and offer recommendations for international change in education, literature, scholarship, and public media., (© Copyright 2021 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.)