Dear colleagues, as this is the last edition of the journal, the editors would like to share some thoughts and reflections on clinical research in diabetes nursing and give some thanks. The world of published research is changing; there are now many more journals in diabetes particularly in open access formats. This has made it increasingly hard for us to attract submissions to the journal to make it viable. In addition, there is an increasing emphasis on researchers to publish their work in high impact journals, which sadly we were not. These factors combined have contributed to the demise of this journal at least in its current form (more later!).
Another more sanguine factor to consider is the state of research in the diabetes nursing community. While there are research-active clinical nurses in diabetes, their numbers are too low. The current climate in diabetes care is intense, as the population and demand continues to increase. In this environment, diabetes nurses may feel they have little time for research. However, we should remember that no research means no advance in knowledge, and clinically it is imperative that we undertake research to improve the care we provide. The need for new ways of working with patients and their families has never been more important as the complexity and range of patient needs are expanding. In its short life, we are proud that this journal has given diabetes nurses a platform to publish their research. The topics and range of studies we have reported show the potential and power of diabetes nurse-led clinical research. The work that we have reported includes studies that have highlighted important problems as well as showing different interventions and ways of working, and we very much hope you have found these helpful. We would like to thank all those authors who contributed to the journal and to let them know despite the journal's demise, their work will remain available in perpetuity.
So, while this may be the end of this journal, it cannot mean that we give up on creating fora for the community of diabetes nurses to share insights and innovations from their research. We need nurses in diabetes to keep publishing their work and more importantly we need more research. There are many ways that you can share you work, such as by submitting abstracts to the Foundation of European Nurses in Diabetes (FEND) conference or locally to your diabetes networks and of course in other journals. We are committed to exploring new avenues and ways of enabling nurses to publish their research. So, watch this space we hope to be able to provide another platform for sharing research with the support of FEND and you all in the near future. The more we share the stronger we will become as a speciality and more importantly our impact on patients will be enhanced.
Finally, more thanks. We would like to extend a massive thank you to the FEND committee for supporting the journal; their work on our behalf has been pivotal in ensuring that diabetes nursing is recognised as a significant force in the world of diabetes. Further thanks to the members of our editorial board (past and present) and to all the reviewers who have given their time to supporting the journal. We leave you with this last thought from the great Florence Nightingale in the hope that it will spur you on to pursue inquiry small or big, to keep progressing the range, quality and impact of the care we provide: ‘I think one's feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions and into actions which bring results’.