Analysis of the Current State of COPD Nursing Based on a Bibliometric Approach from the Web of Science

Abstract

Background and Aim

COPD nursing plays a crucial role in alleviating disease symptoms, prolonging patient survival, and is therefore of paramount importance. However, authoritative research findings, research hotspots, and development trends in the field of COPD are still unclear. This study aimed to examine authoritative research findings, research hotspots, and trends in the field of COPD nursing. Descriptive statistics and bibliometric and visual analyses of the literature were conducted.

Methods

Bibliometric data were obtained from the Web of Science database. Citespace was used to explore publication trends, countries, institutions, journals, authors, keywords, and co-citation characteristics of the included literature in order to summarize the key research in the field of COPD nursing.

Results

In total, 693 articles on COPD nursing were published. 1998–2014 showed a rapid growth period in this research field, which stabilized in 2015–2022. The research content could mostly be summarized into five categories: acute exacerbation, quality of life, risk, evidence-based nursing, and pulmonary rehabilitation. The research hotspots in 1998–2014 included randomized controlled trials, education, elderly patients, nursing home residents, nursing homes, rehabilitation, and prevalence. Research in 2015–2022 focused on impact, palliative care, needs, and predictors. In recent years, research mainly concentrated on symptom management models, cost-effectiveness, and cumulative meta-analysis.

Conclusion

Bibliometric analysis of COPD nursing articles indicates that the focus of COPD nursing research is shifting from tertiary prevention to primary and secondary prevention. Helping patients achieve self-management of symptoms, reducing the financial burden of COPD on healthcare, and summarizing research evidence by meta-analyses will likely remain the focus of future research.

Keywords:

• bibliometric analysis
• COPD
• nursing
• Citespace
• research hotspots

Ethics Statement

This is a bibliometric article and therefore not applicable.

Acknowledgments

Zheng Tian and Yachen Jiang are co-first authors of this article.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71804125), Tianjin Medical University Nursing Discipline Special Development Fund Program (2022XKZX-02) and Tianjin Medical University Nursing Discipline Special Development Fund Program (2022XKZX-07).