“Nurses are essential to administering the vaccines, and we need to be prepared with accurate information about the science behind them: how they work, what we know and don’t know about them, and what might change as more data emerge.”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her editorial, “Building Trust”

The February issue of AJN is now live. Here’s what’s new. Some articles may be free only to subscribers.

Original Research: Concussions at School: The Experiences and Knowledge of School Nurses

This study explores the pediatric concussion-related knowledge, confidence, and management experiences among urban and rural school nurses in Washington State.

Communication Challenges in High-Containment Clinical Environments

The authors discuss the communication challenges that arise with the wearing of PPE and describe strategies they and their colleagues in the National Institutes of Health’s Special Clinical Studies Unit used to improve communication with other staff, patients, and external partners.

Policy and Politics: The Politics of Health Care

An overview of President Joe Biden’s proposals regarding health care access and cost.

Cultivating Quality: Pressure Injury Prevention in Patients with Prolonged ED Stays Prior to Admission

How ED staff and acute care unit nurses collaborated to develop new protocols to prevent hospital-acquired pressure injuries in the ED, including staff education and standardized assessments and prevention care for at-risk patients.

Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone: Using a Mechanical Lift at Home

Instructions and tips nurses can use to educate and support caregivers of patients who require transfers via mechanical lift.

There’s much more in our February issue, including:

  • A Viewpoint on fighting the stigma of severe mental illness.
  • An AJN Reports on career implications for nurses who use legal marijuana.
  • A What I’m Reading book review of Jim Downs’s Sick from Freedom: African-American Illness and Suffering during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Click here to browse the table of contents and explore the issue on our website.

A note on the cover.

This month’s cover features photos of Zac Easter, an Iowa athlete who developed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) after suffering numerous concussions during his decade-long school football career. CTE is a progressive degenerative disease that most commonly affects athletes—especially those who play contact sports—and military veterans. Read more about Easter’s story here.