Decoding the Digital Pulse: Bibliometric Analysis of 25 Years in Digital Health Research Through the Journal of Medical Internet Research

Abstract

Background As the digital health landscape continues to evolve, analyzing the progress and direction of the field can yield valuable insights. The Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) has been at the forefront of disseminating digital health research since 1999. A comprehensive network analysis of JMIR publications can help illuminate the evolution and trends in digital medicine over the past 25 years. Objective This study aims to conduct a detailed network analysis of JMIR’s publications to uncover the growth patterns, dominant themes, and potential future trajectories in digital health research. Methods We retrieved 8068 JMIR papers from PubMed using the Biopython library. Keyword metrics were assessed using accuracy, recall, and F1-scores to evaluate the effectiveness of keyword identification from Claude 3 Opus and Gemini 1.5 Pro in addition to 2 conventional natural language processing methods using key bidirectional encoder representations from transformers. Future trends for 2024-2026 were predicted using Claude 3 Opus, Google’s Time Series Foundation Model, autoregressive integrated moving average, exponential smoothing, and Prophet. Network visualization techniques were used to represent and analyze the complex relationships between collaborating countries, paper types, and keyword co-occurrence. Results JMIR’s publication volume showed consistent growth, with a peak in 2020. The United States dominated country contributions, with China showing a notable increase in recent years. Keyword analysis from 1999 to 2023 showed significant thematic shifts, from an early internet and digital health focus to the dominance of COVID-19 and advanced technologies such as machine learning. Predictions for 2024-2026 suggest an increased focus on artificial intelligence, digital health, and mental health. Conclusions Network analysis of JMIR publications provides a macroscopic view of the evolution of the digital health field. The journal’s trajectory reflects broader technological advances and shifting research priorities, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The predicted trends underscore the growing importance of computational technology in future health care research and practice. The findings from JMIR provide a glimpse into the future of digital medicine, suggesting a robust integration of artificial intelligence and continued emphasis on mental health in the postpandemic era.