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. 2021 Aug 9;16(8):e0254988.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254988. eCollection 2021.

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

Shaojie Qi  1 , Fengrui Hua  1 , Shengyuan Xu  2 , Zheng Zhou  1 , Feng Liu  3
Affiliations

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

Shaojie Qi et al. PLoS One. .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Research framework.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Health literacy trends from 1995 to 2020.
In the past 26 years, a total of 9,492 articles on health literacy were published in the WoS Core Collection.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Country/region collaboration network of health literacy.
Each node represents a country/region, and the size of the node indicates the number of publications of the country/region. Each edge indicates a collaborative relationship between countries/regions.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Institution collaboration network of health literacy.
Each node represents an institution, and the size of the node indicates the number of publications of the institution. Each edge indicates a collaborative relationship between two institutions.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Author collaboration network of health literacy.
Each node represents an author, and the size of the node indicates the number of publications of the author. Each edge indicates a collaborative relationship between two authors.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Category collaboration network of health literacy.
Each node indicates a category, and the larger the node, the more papers were published. Each edge indicates a collaborative relationship between two categories.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Category document cocitation clustering network of health literacy.
A total of 12 clusters were generated in the graph. Each node represents one cited reference, and each edge indicates the cocitation relationship. The color represents the date of publication: yellow indicates literature that is newly published, and green and blue indicate literature published in earlier years.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Timeline view of health literacy.
This figure presents 12 clusters, which are arranged and numbered in ascending order from #0 to #11, with the colors corresponding to the average year in which the clusters were active. The larger the node, the more times it was cocited. Each cluster represents an area that has been developed or is developing Hence, the closer the arch body is to the right, the newer the topic.
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