Le monde de la communication scientifique à la croisée des chemins

<jats:p />

Goulet et son équipe sont sensibles aux effets néfastes de la violence en milieu psychiatrique pour les patients, les intervenants et les organisations. Pour prévenir cette violence potentielle et ainsi améliorer les pratiques en santé à cet égard, il est d'abord nécessaire de développer des indicateurs solides. Les auteurs ont adapté, traduit et validé un outil de mesure de la prévention de la violence qui tient compte de la perspective des patients, des intervenants et de l'environnement de l'unité de soins. Les résultats de données collectées permettent de proposer un questionnaire de 23 items rendu disponible en langue française et anglaise. L'utilisation d'un outil de mesure ayant bénéficié d'un tel processus de validation rigoureux est un atout de taille afin de favoriser la sécurité des soins et services ainsi que pour orienter des recherches futures.

EDITORIAL
Making the results of scientific research rapidly available is one way to inform the public of recent discoveries and thereby improve people's futures. The 21st century shift to digital has created major changes that make knowledge quickly available to as many people as possible via the web. The speed at which this knowledge is expected to be made available is a major challenge that we have faced over the past year.
The Science of Nursing and Health Practices journal is rated as Gold open access according to Crawford (2015). This model aims to ensure that there is fair access to knowledge, at least in theory, allowing most citizens to access information with no embargo period as soon as it is accepted for publication following a peer review process. Under the Gold model, all articles are made available online as soon as they have been accepted (Piwowar et al., 2018). You may have noticed that we created a postprint format to make quickly available newly accepted articles for publication. In this issue, you will find the final version of three such articles (Bernier et al., Goulet et al., Nunciaroni et al.).
This issue is the result of hard work on the part of the authors, the peer reviewers and the journal's team to make research accessible as quickly as possible while conducting a rigorous peer review.
It starts off with an empirical study conducted by Lavoie and Boudreau on preventing sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections (STBBIs) among Secondary 4 and 5 students. The researchers point out that, despite the accessibility of screening services and the negative consequences that STBBIs have on health, the participation rate of young people in preventative screening remains modest. The prospective descriptive study surveyed nearly 300 students and aimed to identify beliefs associated with the intention to participate in screening. The questionnaire was based on the Theory of Planned Behavior and identified the five most evidence beliefs that can help develop an awareness-raising program to better engage the target audience.
The next two articles address risk factors associated with heart disease, a global health issue. The studies were carried out in Brazil and Quebec, Canada.
In Brazil, Nunciaroni and her team developed and assessed a new health practice for patients with heart failure, a chronic disease in which the heart is unable to meet the body's needs. The new practice is based on Implementation Intention Theory and aims to lower salt intake, thereby reducing fluid retention in the body and helping the heart to do its work. A randomized controlled trial is the design used to assess two variations of this new practice: an individual approach for people with heart failure and a collaborative approach involving a caregiver. Both approaches resulted in reduced salt intake among these patients compared to control groups, providing courses of action to better support individuals in lowering their salt intake, with or without a caregiver involved in the process.
Lifestyle changes are also required to decrease the risk of recurrence of an acute cardiac event, such as a myocardial infarction. It then becomes even more important to reduce cardiac risk factors by eating better, refraining from smoking, engaging in physical activity and taking prescribed medication. Although rehabilitation programs are known to help people make these changes, little was known about the specific needs of patients in rural areas. Bernier and her team examined the need for cardiac rehabilitation services from the perspective of patients and professionals living in rural Quebec (Canada), thereby providing concrete ways to develop and implement appropriate resources.
The three articles that follow use methodological designs that aim to document the validity of a measurement instrument: does it measure what it intends to measure? They also test reliability: is it measured consistently?
Goulet and her team are mindful of the fact that violence in psychiatric settings has negative consequences on patients, staff and the institution. To prevent such violence from occurring and thereby improve health practices, it is first necessary to develop robust indicators. The researchers adapted, translated and validated a measurement instrument that assesses violence prevention, taking into account the standpoint of patients and staff, and the therapeutic environment. The data collection results made it possible to develop a questionnaire with 23 items that is available in French and English. Using a measurement instrument that has undergone such a rigorous validation process is a major asset both in terms of safety of care and services and guiding future research.
A second article written by Ouellet's team describes the reliability of a triage tool used in an emergency department to optimize its clinical utility and relevance. In an emergency department, the purpose of triage is to quickly identify which people require immediate care using specific criteria. This retrospective study was conducted using hospital records and consisted in collecting data from 50 triages, each of which included 49 criteria that were assessed by 4 auditors. The results show that explicit clinical criteria (e.g., cardiac rhythm) are assessed in a more accurate way than implicit criteria (e.g., self-report of when the patient last ate). These results helped to identify content for potential training to improve triage reliability in emergency departments.
The third such article describes a systematic review protocol that aims to evaluate how healthcare trajectories for people with major neurocognitive disorder are defined and measured. How these clients progress through care trajectories and how their trajectories fluctuate makes it imperative to properly evaluate them over time to offer optimal care. The article presents a systematic review protocol that uses a mixed methods design. Once peer reviewed, accepted and published, this type of review protocol informs the community about the ongoing project and provides specific information about the research methods used. The quantitative and qualitative results will be integrated to optimize the adequacy of services in relation to the clients' needs.
In this issue, it can be noted that there are a variety of clients, thus offering avenues for new health practices. Diverse designs were also used: a randomized controlled trial, a questionnaire study, qualitative and mixed methods research, a needs assessment, and a systematic literature review.
The issue also includes a guest editorial written by two managers who have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to thank Renée Descôteaux and Nathalie Folch for taking time out of the daily struggle to share their thoughts on how to provide better care despite the multiple challenges associated with contagiousness, safety of care and staff health (to name a few). Innovations have come to light and avenues for actions are proposed to help move toward better collaboration and coordination by integrating the development and application of knowledge in a crisis context. Transitioning to 2022: We must continue to roll up our sleeves and work hard so that scientific knowledge can improve the future of individuals and societies. However, making articles rapidly available online is still