“Health care workers need a break. . . . a respite from trudging from room to room or house to house, donning and doffing gowns and masks and gloves . . .”—editor-in-chief Shawn Kennedy in her July editorial, “In the Aftermath”

The July issue of AJN is now live. Check out the highlights:

Original Research: How Magnet Hospital Status Affects Nurses, Patients, and Organizations: A Systematic Review

The authors analyze the current evidence comparing Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals to determine whether different outcomes exist between them—and provide new information regarding the economic impact of Magnet recognition.

The Effects of Smoking on Bone Health and Healing

A review of the effects of smoking on bone health, the importance of smoking cessation among patients scheduled for or recovering from orthopedic surgery, and the vital role nurses play in supporting patient efforts to quit.

Special Feature: Perceived Barriers to Rapid Response Team Activation Among Nurses

This literature review explores the major barriers many nurses face in calling the rapid response team—and how those barriers might be overcome.

Cultivating Quality: Preventing Falls Among Behavioral Health Patients

How an interprofessional team redesigned a fall prevention program to reduce the rate of fall-related injuries on an adult inpatient behavioral health unit.

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

  • An Update from the CDC on alcohol use in pregnancy.
  • An AJN Reports on nursing implications related to aid in dying.
  • A Profile of Felina Ortiz, a certified nurse midwife who works to promote racial and ethnic diversity within the profession.

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

A note on the cover:

On this month’s cover, nurse midwife Caroline Fati Asigiri speaks with a postpartum mother at Ga West Municipal Hospital in Amasaman, Ghana. Asigiri is a mentor in a program to improve care for Ghanaian mothers and babies led by Jhpiego, an international nongovernmental organization that helps strengthen health care in developing countries. We feature this photo as part of our ongoing recognition of the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.