Research trends and hotspots in caregiver studies: A bibliometric and scientometric analysis of nursing journals

Aims To explore the intellectual landscape of care-giving studies and identify research trends and hotspots in this field. Design A bibliometric and scientometric analysis of care-giving literature was undertaken from January - February 2020. Methods CiteSpace was used to analyse research published between 1900 - 2019. A references-based co-citation analysis was used to identify the intellectual landscape of care-giving research. A keywords-based co-occurrence analysis with citation bursts was used to explore research hotspots and frontiers. Lastly, a co-authorship network analysis was used to identify co-operation among authors, countries, and institutions. Results There has been an increasing trend in the number of publications on care-giving research with light fluctuations. Relevant literature mainly focused on the fields of oncology and psychiatry. The keywords-based analysis indicated that the main research targets had previously been informal caregivers of patients with stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia. In recent years, focus has shifted onto informal caregivers of patients with cancer, heart failure, and those at end-of-life. Conclusion This bibliometric and scientometric analysis helps us understand the current state of caregiver research and its recent developments. Impact Caregivers' mental health and care experience have become research hotspots. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? This research allows the development of future research on care-giving. Future researchers should explore effective interventions for the health of patient-caregiver dyads.