Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis

BackgroundResearch into the application of virtual reality technology in the health care sector has rapidly increased, resulting in a large body of research that is difficult to keep up with. ObjectiveWe will provide an overview of the annual publication numbers i...

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Main Authors: Christian Matthias Pawassar, Victor Tiberius
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2021-12-01
Series:JMIR Serious Games
Online Access:https://games.jmir.org/2021/4/e32721
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author Christian Matthias Pawassar
Victor Tiberius
author_facet Christian Matthias Pawassar
Victor Tiberius
author_sort Christian Matthias Pawassar
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundResearch into the application of virtual reality technology in the health care sector has rapidly increased, resulting in a large body of research that is difficult to keep up with. ObjectiveWe will provide an overview of the annual publication numbers in this field and the most productive and influential countries, journals, and authors, as well as the most used, most co-occurring, and most recent keywords. MethodsBased on a data set of 356 publications and 20,363 citations derived from Web of Science, we conducted a bibliometric analysis using BibExcel, HistCite, and VOSviewer. ResultsThe strongest growth in publications occurred in 2020, accounting for 29.49% of all publications so far. The most productive countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain; the most influential countries are the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The most productive journals are the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), JMIR Serious Games, and the Games for Health Journal; the most influential journals are Patient Education and Counselling, Medical Education, and Quality of Life Research. The most productive authors are Riva, del Piccolo, and Schwebel; the most influential authors are Finset, del Piccolo, and Eide. The most frequently occurring keywords other than “virtual” and “reality” are “training,” “trial,” and “patients.” The most relevant research themes are communication, education, and novel treatments; the most recent research trends are fitness and exergames. ConclusionsThe analysis shows that the field has left its infant state and its specialization is advancing, with a clear focus on patient usability.
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spelling doaj.art-19518658d6704c8cb6f0bf82dd667da62023-08-28T19:54:56ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Serious Games2291-92792021-12-0194e3272110.2196/32721Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric AnalysisChristian Matthias Pawassarhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1159-8872Victor Tiberiushttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6492-0872 BackgroundResearch into the application of virtual reality technology in the health care sector has rapidly increased, resulting in a large body of research that is difficult to keep up with. ObjectiveWe will provide an overview of the annual publication numbers in this field and the most productive and influential countries, journals, and authors, as well as the most used, most co-occurring, and most recent keywords. MethodsBased on a data set of 356 publications and 20,363 citations derived from Web of Science, we conducted a bibliometric analysis using BibExcel, HistCite, and VOSviewer. ResultsThe strongest growth in publications occurred in 2020, accounting for 29.49% of all publications so far. The most productive countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain; the most influential countries are the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The most productive journals are the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), JMIR Serious Games, and the Games for Health Journal; the most influential journals are Patient Education and Counselling, Medical Education, and Quality of Life Research. The most productive authors are Riva, del Piccolo, and Schwebel; the most influential authors are Finset, del Piccolo, and Eide. The most frequently occurring keywords other than “virtual” and “reality” are “training,” “trial,” and “patients.” The most relevant research themes are communication, education, and novel treatments; the most recent research trends are fitness and exergames. ConclusionsThe analysis shows that the field has left its infant state and its specialization is advancing, with a clear focus on patient usability.https://games.jmir.org/2021/4/e32721
spellingShingle Christian Matthias Pawassar
Victor Tiberius
Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis
JMIR Serious Games
title Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis
title_full Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis
title_fullStr Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis
title_short Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis
title_sort virtual reality in health care bibliometric analysis
url https://games.jmir.org/2021/4/e32721
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