Bibliometric analysis confirms expected trends in consumer health information publications

Elham Aldousari

doi:10.1111/hir.12399

Bibliometric analysis confirms expected trends in consumer health information publications

Health Info Libr J. 2021 Oct 7. doi: 10.1111/hir.12399. Online ahead of print.

Author

Elham Aldousari¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Information Studies, College of Social Sciences, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.

PMID: 34617668
DOI: 10.1111/hir.12399

Abstract

Background: This study provides an overview of consumer health information (CHI) scholarly communication trends.

Objectives: To explore CHI publications trends, journal citations, prolific authors, countries of origin, and distribution of CHI publications.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was used; 8953 records from the Web of Science (WoS) and peer-reviewed journal articles from databases, including LISA, MEDLINE, ERIC, PREMEDLINE and EMBASE were analysed.

Results: Publications on CHI rapidly increased from 1980 to 2019, especially during the 1990s and 2000s. Most journals that have published CHI research are based in North America and Europe.

Conclusion: The increase in the CHI literature corresponds with that in Internet usage in the 2000s, and explains the availability of CHI content online. This trend is associated with the widespread adoption of personal computers (PCs) and other Internet-enabled gadgets.

Keywords: bibliometrics; consumer health information; patient infomation; public health; scholarly communication.

Publication types

Review