February 2007 - Volume 1, Issue 1

Abdul Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor) Abdul Abyad, MD, MPH, MBA, AGSF, AFCHSE (Editor) Abyad Medical Center & Middle East Longevity Institute Azmi Street, Abdo Center, 2nd Floor PO BOX 618, Tripoli LEBANON Tel & Fax: 961 6 443684/5/6 Email: aabyad@cyberia.net.lb Web: www.amc-lb.com

With the inaugural issue of the Middle East Journal of Nursing we look forward to making the journal the leader in its field. This will be achieved with the help of the editorial board, the production team, readers and authors.

The Middle East Journal of Nursing is a new peer-reviewed journal designed to meet the needs of nurses, scientists, policymakers, and the patients and communities in the Middle-East. The Journal will begin publication, online, in February 2007, and shortly thereafter in hard copy. The frequency will be initially once every 3 months for the first year then once every two months.

The Mission of the Journal is to promote the field of nursing in the Middle East. The journal will publish original clinical and educational research of interest to the nursing field, practicing nurses, nurses in training and others involved in the nursing field and nursing education. The journal also publishes special articles and commentaries about the fundamental concepts of nursing education, as well as book reviews and international reports. It will foster the basic and applied sciences of nursing practice.

The aim of the journal is to lift the standards of nursing in the Middle East. In addition to providing academically sound, clinically practical information for nurses in the promotion of the specialty of the nursing field in the Middle-East Region.

Following the success of the previous medical journals Middle East Journal of Family Medicine (MEJFM) and the Middle East Journal of Age and Ageing (ME-JAA), the publishers are pleased to announce this new resource for the region.

In this issue Dr Yousif T et al, discussed the importance of the development of professional midwifery skills. This can be achieved through well-designed curriculum, stressing acquisition, training and assessment. The author stressed that training of local women to become midwifes is a cost effective approach to the provision of such skilled attendant care.

A study from Jordan tried to identify and investigate the knowledge and practice of breast self- examination (BSE) with the influencing factors on the compliance of (BSE) among female nurses. The study included 80 nurses form Prince Rashid Military Hospital. The study revealed positive correlations between nursing work experience and their practice in BSE as working nurses.

A study by Majaly R evaluated the efficacy of a method where antiseptic was merely painted on to the operation site without scrubbing it. Patients were randomized into Group A: wherein skin preparation was done by traditional methods, and Group B: in which the site was prepared by painting and the same antiseptics were allowed to remain for about two to three minutes before being wiped off. The author concluded that simple painting of the operation site is as effective as the old traditional ritual of scrubbing for ten minutes.

A study from Iran investigated the effect of discharge planning on physical status of mothers. A total of one hundred and eighteen women (mean age =21.64 years) participated in this study. The authors stressed the beneficial effects of conducting discharge planning on reducing maternal complications in the postpartum period.

Taavoni S et al, reported on the effect of personal characteristics on vaginal delivery Vs C-Section. The author compared data from 289 C/S case notes with 301 V/D case notes. They concluded that most cases of C/S section were due to primigravida and young age.