Volume 29 Number 4

It is with great pleasure that we present the final edition of the Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal for 2023. Our first article, The management of urinary incontinence in nursing homes: a scoping review¹, identifies the various interventions employed for the management of urinary incontinence in nursing homes. This article not only provides an excellent summary of the various policies and practices, but makes recommendations regarding which approaches ensure the most benefit. We are confident that this will be of great interest to many of our readers. The second article in this edition, Improving ward-based neurogenic bladder and bowel care after acute spinal cord injury: a narrative review², focuses on the procedures, protocols and processes that occur after spinal cord injury. After investigating the literature, this article provides recommendations for management and insights into processes that can particularly assist in the acute phase of spinal cord injury.

In this edition we have been very happy to collaborate with the UroGynaecological Society of Australasia to publish a small selection of abstracts from the Annual Scientific Meeting (22-25 November 2023, Melbourne). This includes: Clinical Quality Indicators using Australasian Pelvic Floor Procedure Registry clinical data³; Biomechanical and immunobiological properties of human fascia lata (HFL) vs TiMesh®: Implications for pelvic reconstructive surgery⁴; and Mesh perforation into viscus following pelvic mesh surgery: experiences and recommendations for diagnosis and management⁵. It is absolutely fantastic to see so much great research being conducted that relates to the pelvic region, and overall continence.

I express a warm welcome to Sarah Tayler who has taken on the managing editor role for the journal. Sarah has a background in editing, writing, marketing and production, and it has been absolutely amazing to have her on board as part of our journal’s team. Sarah’s experiences will greatly assist as we strategically develop and grow the journal throughout 2024. This includes working to increase the visibility of published articles, promoting the research presented within, and enhancing our engagement with the broader research community. We very much appreciate the support received from our authors, reviewers and members of the editorial committee. If you would like to express interest in reviewing or need a hand preparing or submitting an article, please contact us at journal@continence.org.au

The ANZCJ presents an excellent avenue for the publication of research. All articles are available online as diamond open access, with no cost to authors or readers. Each publication is allocated an individual digital object identifier (DOI) to assist with referencing and tracking, and is listed across several databases. If you are a first-time author, our reviewing and editorial teams can offer guidance, feedback and support to assist. Performing and publishing research not only helps our community with increased knowledge and insights, but also advances the vision of the Continence Foundation of Australia and Continence New Zealand to promote bladder and bowel health and eliminate the stigma and restrictions of all aspects of incontinence.

Author(s)

Christian Moro
Editor-In-Chief and Chair
Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal

References

1. Ostaszkiewicz J et al. The management of urinary incontinence in nursing homes: a scoping review. Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal 2023; 29(4):80-100.
2. Levy C et al. Improving ward-based neurogenic bladder and bowel care after acute spinal cord injury: a narrative review. Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal 2023; 29(4):101-108.
3. Kartik A. Clinical Quality Indicators using Australasian Pelvic Floor Procedure Registry clinical data. Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal 2023; 29(4):109.
4. Hennes D. Biomechanical and immunobiological properties of human fascia lata (HFL) vs TiMesh®: implications for pelvic reconstructive surgery. Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal 2023; 29(4):110.
5. Tan YH. Mesh perforation into viscus following pelvic mesh surgery: experiences and recommendations for diagnosis and management. Australian and New Zealand Continence Journal 2023; 29(4):111.