Trends of global health literacy research (1995–2020): Analysis of mapping knowledge domains based on citation data mining

Abstract

Background During uncertainties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively improving people’s health literacy is more important than ever. Drawing knowledge maps of health literacy research through data mining and visualized measurement technology helps systematically present the research status and development trends in global academic circles. Methods This paper uses CiteSpace to carry out a metric analysis of 9,492 health literacy papers included in Web of Science through mapping knowledge domains. First, based on the production theory of scientific knowledge and the data mining of citations, the main bodies (country, institution and author) that produce health literacy knowledge as well as their mutual cooperation (collaboration network) are both clarified. Additionally, based on the quantitative framework of cocitation analysis, this paper introduces the interdisciplinary features, development trends and hot topics of the field. Finally, by using burst detection technology in the literature, it further reveals the research frontiers of health literacy. Results The results of the BC measures of the global health literacy research collaboration network show that the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom are the major forces in the current international collaboration network on health literacy. There are still relatively very few transnational collaborations between Eastern and Western research institutions. Collaborations in public environmental occupational health, health care science services, nursing and health policy services have been active in the past five years. Research topics in health literacy research evolve over time, mental health has been the most active research field in recent years. Conclusions A systematic approach is needed to address the challenges of health literacy, and the network framework of cooperation on health literacy at regional, national and global levels should be strengthened to further promote the application of health literacy research. In the future, we anticipate that this research field will expand in two directions, namely, mental health literacy and eHealth literacy, both of which are closely linked to social development and issues. The results of this study provide references for future applied research in health literacy.

Digital Health Literacy: Bibliometric Analysis

“…Schillinger published 17 articles (0.9%), ranking third for publications. Accordingly, we found that some of the most productive authors, namely, Wolf and Schillinger [ 25 ], were also the most productive in the field of health literacy. In addition, we investigated the h-index and found that Stellefson’s research may have had great impaction in the fields of digital health literacy.…”

“…Moreover, there is some bibliometric research related to health literacy and eHealth literacy [ 25 - 27 ]. However, although these studies have done systematic bibliometrics, their core concepts are limited to eHealth literacy.…”

Work-Related Health Literacy: A Scoping Review to Clarify the Concept

“…Interventions targeting general health literacy were also less numerous than interventions targeting mental health literacy [ 75 ]. In recent years, mental health literacy was the area of most research activities in health literacy research [ 21 ]. Mental health literacy refers to the knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders that support their detection, management, or prevention [ 76 ].…”

“…The promotion of health literacy, and especially of health literacy addressing knowledge and skills in occupational settings, can lead to improved individual skills, less occupational hazards and injuries, and to the maintenance and promotion of work ability. In the past five years, interdisciplinary collaborations in health literacy research evolved between, for example, environmental or occupational health, public health, and nursing [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”

A bibliometric analysis on global eHealth

“…33 Bibliometrics played a unique role in quantifying knowledge production and laws of scientific development. 34 Bibliometric Analysis of food big data, 35 food waste, 36 global climate change, 37 food safety governance, 38 global health literacy, 39 eHealth 40 , 41 and eHealth literacy 42 were reported. However, the bibliometric studies on eHealth are mainly about competencies or knowledge structures.…”