Current landscape of disparity-focused research: a bibliometric analysis of 260 research articles

Abstract

Introduction: The health disparities research field is rapidly evolving. It is vital to investigate disparities across a variety of sociodemographic factors, health conditions, and age groups. Yet, not all populations may be adequately represented in research on disparities. This paper aims to characterize the current state of disparities literature and identify trends, gaps, and opportunities in the field. Methods: A bibliometric analysis of studies on disparities published between January 2020 and August 2022 was conducted. 260 research articles were identified through a PubMed literature search. Categories across which disparities were examined, disparity types, health conditions studied, ages of study subjects, and journal-related information were extracted from articles. Results: 260 articles, of which 95% focused on health disparities, were included in this analysis. 67% of studies investigated disparities across racial or ethnic groups, and all 9 articles on physician employment investigated disparities in gender. The majority of studies focused on adults, with 71% of studies having mean or median ages of subjects between 40 and 80 years. Early adulthood (20-30 years) was the least frequently studied age range (3%). Articles on cancer and cardiovascular conditions comprised 34% of health-related disparity studies. Discussion and implications: Our results highlight a need to study disparities in pediatric and young adult populations. Such research can identify targets of early intervention that may improve long-term health and reduce disparities presenting in late adulthood. There are also opportunities to study disparities across less-commonly investigated sociodemographic variables such as rurality, sexual orientation, and English proficiency.