October is National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, with October 10 designated as World Mental Health Day.  The Journal of Clinical Nursing proudly supports World Mental Health Day and is pleased to provide access to a selection of recent papers we have published on various aspects of mental health during the past two years.

The focus of this year’s World Mental Health Day is on suicide prevention. The theme could not be timelier, as evidence indicates that “more than 800, 000 people die globally by suicide” (https://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/).  Put another way, a suicide occurs every 40 seconds.  Such statistics are staggering and serve to alert healthcare professionals of the need for intervention.  While there are data about physician suicide, information about nurses is lacking.  Yet, experientially, we know nurses are not immune to suicide.

The Journal of Clinical Nursing is marking World Mental Health Day 2019 by emphasizing research nurses have conducted addressing mental health issues. While several articles over the past two years have addressed burnout in nurses, articles highlighted reflect nurse scientist efforts to better understand and thus influence the care persons with mental health issues receive. Recent examples of research by nurses reflect a desire to: develop an intervention to address depression in women with breast cancer: learn more about experiences when caring for a spouse with mental illness; understand healthcare barriers to addressing mental health issues; and highlight integrating evidence-based practices in the care of patients with mental illness. These papers highlight how nurse scientists use different research methodologies to enhance our understanding of mental health and illness.

We hope you will enjoy reading this selection of recent work by nurse researchers to mark World Mental Health Day 2019.

Karen H. Morin, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN
Professor Emerita
Editor, JCN
October 2019