FOREWORD

To our readers and contributors:

Welcome to the first issue of the Southern African Journal of Critical Care for 2023! In this issue, we showcase four original research articles from South Africa and beyond,^[1-4] as well as a new and innovative feature for the Journal, the SAJCC Soapbox.

But first, some important news from the editorial team:

• In 2022, the SAJCC was approved for accreditation by PubMed Central (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/journals/4175/). This accreditation will extend the international reach and readership of the Journal and is a huge step forward for the SAJCC. With your valuable contributions as readers and authors, we look forward to new heights being achieved in the coming years.

• Please note that we have migrated to a new editorial management system - https://samajournals.co.za/index.php/sajcc . Please_navigate to this website to view SAJCC content and to submit your articles for consideration for publication.

• The SAJCC Soapbox is a new section, which we hope will become a regular feature in the Journal. The SAJCC Soapbox provides an outlet for anyone to share their views, experiences or opinions on important topics relevant to critical care. Soapbox articles can be submitted as short mini-review or narrative type commentary articles. The views expressed in these commentaries do not necessarily need to be those of the SAJCC Editorial Board or of the CCSSA, but do require substantiation using scholarly discourse and scientific evidence, and may undergo peer review with this in mind. Articles on current issues that stimulate collegial debate are specifically encouraged.

• The inaugural SAJCC Soapbox offers an insightful commentary by Dr. Alison Lupton-Smith ^[5] in which she asks the important question about whether we are missing the art of caring in the ICU. She provides a poignant plea from the patient's point of view, 'Please lift me up so I can breathe.... Someone... please... ask me what is wrong and highlights the need for a holistic approach to person-centered care, inclusive of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects. She also highlights the need for better caring of healthcare providers in ICU - we all need to critically look at our own workspaces and professional relationships, and reflect on how we can improve and 'humanise' these - for both patients and healthcare providers alike.

I hope you all enjoy reading this issue as much as I have!

Warm regards,

Brenda Morrow, PhD

Editor in Chief, Southern African Journal of Critical Care

References

1. Prevalence and Independent Predictors of In-Hospital Stroke Among Patients Who Developed Acute Alteration of Consciousness in The Medical Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Case-Control Study. South Afr J Crit Care 2023; x:x-x        [ Links ]

2. Malawian critical care nurses' views on the implementation of an educational intervention regarding an evidence-based endotracheal tube cuff pressure management guideline to enhance sustained use: a survey study. South Afr J Crit Care 2023; x:x-x        [ Links ]

3. Slave M, Scribante J, Perrie H, Lambat F. Carbon dioxide levels of ventilated adult critically ill postoperative patients on arrival to the intensive care unit. South Afr J Crit Care 2023; x:x-x.         [ Links ]

4. Gqaleni TMH, Mkhize SW. Healthcare professionals' perception of knowledge and implementation of Patient Safety Incident Reporting and Learning guidelines in specialised care units, KwaZulu-Natal. South Afr J Crit Care 2023; x:x-x        [ Links ]

5. Lupton-Smith A. The missed art of care? South Afr J Crit Care 2023; x:x-x.         [ Links ]