Social Distancing for Humans, not for Research

Abstract

A s I am writing this editorial remark in my research office, we are experiencing level 3 COVID-19 quarantine restrictions. Although our school has not yet shut down, no physical classes are being allowed, and all courses have been moved online. Despite the occasional audio delays and image transmission problems, I think this is the best way to continue learning outside of the confines of the traditional classroom. We went through this isolation process during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. At that time, we did not have mobile apps, so final tests were replaced by report assignments, and students learned from paper scenarios instead of practicing on real patients. It seems like that just happened yesterday, and I now view quarantine restraints as something almost as predictable as our summertime typhoons. You have to figure out how to continue your work and survive with greater resource restrictions (such as network speeds and purchase limitations).Fortunately, our research has continued during this pandemic. Reading all of the papers that will be published in this issue, I am deeply moved that, while social distancing has affected our physical contacts, it has not affected human research. We still have studies focusing on nurses' knowledge in sepsis and geriatric care. Researchers are dedicated to intervention studies designed to improve quality of life in injury patients, promote aerobic exercise in women with methamphetamine dependence, and reduce anxiety in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafts. Furthermore, nursing professionals have worked to examine the effects of crude oil pollution on newborn birth, the influence of drainage system sanitation on the incidence of urinary tract infection, and the association between body constitution and hypertension. Luz et al. (2020) posited that the current pandemic is similar to the Crimean War, which motivated Florence Nightingale to use the data and information available to her as the nascent spark of today's evidence-based healthcare. Despite the hard work nurses face on pandemic care, we still have to publish nursing research so the value can be consolidated as science. With each study conducted, knowledge accumulates to benefit patient care. It is not any easy job during this epidemic era. However, it is a worthy mission for human welfare.