Aims & Scope
Aims
Pediatrics & Nursology publishes research that strengthens the evidence base for the nursing care of newborns, children, adolescents and their families. The journal exists because a great deal of child health nursing research is produced each year, and comparatively little of it reaches the bedside in a form clinicians can act on. Our editorial purpose is to close that distance.
Alongside this primary focus, the journal serves as an outlet for nursing scholarship across the wider discipline, and for research on children and adolescents conducted in neighbouring fields.
We aim to:
- publish methodologically rigorous studies that can change what nurses do in practice, how child health services are organised, and how the next generation of paediatric nurses is prepared;
- give equal consideration to well-conducted studies reporting null, negative or unexpected findings, where the design and reporting are sound;
- serve as an international forum, with particular attention to research from settings that remain underrepresented in the child health literature;
- assess every manuscript on scientific merit, methodological soundness and relevance to practice, independent of the authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, seniority or funding source.
Scope
The journal publishes across three areas, in the following order of editorial priority.
1. Paediatric and neonatal nursing — primary focus
Neonatal nursing. Neonatal intensive care; care of the preterm and low-birth-weight infant; developmental and family-integrated care; breastfeeding and lactation support; non-pharmacological pain and comfort interventions; neonatal follow-up and long-term outcomes; ethical questions in newborn care.
Infant and preschool child nursing. Growth and development; nutrition and feeding; immunisation; injury prevention; early childhood health promotion and disease prevention; parenting support.
School-age child nursing. Chronic disease management and self-management; school health services; mental and behavioural health; treatment adherence; developmental and learning-related health needs.
Adolescent health nursing. Physical, psychosocial and reproductive health; risk behaviour and prevention; chronic illness in adolescence; transition from paediatric to adult services.
Cross-cutting areas
- Family-centred and family-integrated care; parent, sibling and caregiver outcomes
- Symptom management in children: pain, procedural distress, fatigue, nausea, sleep
- Children with complex, chronic or life-limiting conditions; paediatric palliative and end-of-life nursing
- Care of children with disabilities and of children who cannot self-report
- Paediatric emergency, acute and critical care nursing
- Paediatric mental health and psychosocial nursing
- Nursing education, simulation and workforce development in child health
- Leadership, management, patient safety and quality improvement in paediatric settings
- Digital health, telehealth and remote monitoring in child health
- Child health policy, equity and global child health
2. Nursing science more broadly — secondary focus
The journal considers well-conducted research from all branches of nursing, including:
- Surgical nursing and perioperative care
- Internal medicine nursing
- Intensive and critical care nursing
- Mental health and psychiatric nursing
- Public health and community health nursing
- Geriatric nursing
- Oncology nursing
- Fundamentals of nursing and nursing theory
- Nursing education and curriculum research
- Nursing management, leadership and workforce studies
Studies conducted in adult and older-adult populations are eligible in this category and are assessed by the same methodological standards as paediatric work. They are accepted in smaller numbers so that the journal's paediatric identity is preserved.
Midwifery and women's health research is considered where it bears on newborn, infant or child health outcomes.
3. Child-focused research from allied disciplines — limited acceptance
Research on children and adolescents conducted outside nursing is also considered, including:
- Paediatric medicine and allied clinical specialties
- Child development and early childhood studies
- Special education and inclusive education
- Child and adolescent psychology and psychiatry
- Paediatric nutrition and dietetics
- Child health policy, social work and welfare
These manuscripts are accepted on a limited basis and are expected to carry findings of clear relevance to those who care for children.
Study designs
Randomised and non-randomised trials; observational and epidemiological studies; qualitative and mixed-methods research; instrument development and psychometric studies; systematic, scoping and integrative reviews; meta-analyses; quality improvement projects; study protocols for prospectively registered research; methodological and theoretical papers.
Outside our scope
- Clinical or laboratory research with no discernible implication for nursing care or child health
- Single case descriptions and case reports
- Manuscripts that do not report their methods in sufficient detail to permit appraisal
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