Research hotspots, trends and opportunities on the metaverse in health education: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

PurposeThe metaverse offers great potential for creating a new educational environment with unique experiences. Currently, it has been integrated into many stages of education, including classroom study aids, clinical skill interaction and image training simulators, thanks to a new generation of Internet applications. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive systematic review using bibliometric analysis on the metaverse in health education and analyze the trends and patterns of research output within the field.Design/methodology/approachThe paper conducts bibliometric analysis and follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure a rigorous and transparent review process. Specifically, this article identifies research questions, develops a data-collection strategy and establishes a screening approach that includes determining relevant keywords and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria.FindingsA bibliometric analysis is conducted comprising 231 studies from 145 scientific journals to assess the trends, patterns and collaboration networks in research on the use of metaverse technology in health education. This paper provides insights into the research themes, publication trends and countries leading in this field, which can guide future research in this field.Originality/valueThe use of metaverse technology in health education has gained momentum in recent years. Despite this interest, comprehensive studies to review and analyze the existing literature on this topic systematically are lacking. In response, this paper provides a systematic review that explores the potential role of the metaverse in health education. By considering the current research, key trends, research hotspots and opportunities for future investigations are identified. The findings not only shed light on the current state of research but also offer guidance for advancing this exciting field.

La revolución del metaverso

“…Shukla et al (2023) hacen un análisis bibliométrico sobre tendencias y temas del metaverso en el sector empresarial, en el que observan que el mayor crecimiento se produce en 2022 y las palabras clave más utilizadas son metaversos, realidad virtual y sostenibilidad. Agac et al (2023), en su revisión de la literatura sobre metaverso en educación sanitaria, observan que el uso de tecnologías innovadoras ofrece ventajas en coste, tiempo y experiencia. El metaverso puede ayudar a crear entornos educativos con experiencias únicas.…”

“…El mundo real y académico se plantean si hay un nuevo paradigma social con el metaverso y hay posturas a favor y en contra. En el contexto académico, hay algunas revisiones de la literatura sobre el metaverso (Agac et al, 2023;Cruz et al, 2023;Shukla et al, 2023;Wider et al, 2023) y sus aplicaciones (Chen et al, 2023;Shen et al, 2023;Tlili et al, 2022), pero se ha reflexionado poco sobre sus pros/contras.…”

Editorial: Special selection on current bibliometrics and reviews

“…Research hotspots gradually developed from conceptual research to artificial intelligence, blockchain, NFT and other technical applications. Readers may be interested in reading recent articles on metaverse applications to urban libraries (Guo et al , 2023) and bibliometrics on metaverse applications in health education (Agac et al , 2023).…”

Metaverse’ün Disiplinlerarası Görünümü: Lisansüstü Tez Çalışmalarının Bibliyometrik Profili

“…• Damar and Koksalmis (2024) metaverse ve sağlık hizmetleri; Agac et al, (2023) metaverse ve sağlık eğitimi; Nguyen and Voznak (2024) metaverse, dijital sağlık ve sağlık yönetimi kavramlarını incelemişlerdir.…”