Bibliometric analysis of COVID-19 research publications in pharmacy practice journals

Objectives Pharmacy practice journals are considered the main player in promoting pharmacy practice research and the pharmacy profession globally. The current study aimed to explore and analyze literature on the COVID-19 pandemic published in pharmacy practice journals. Methods COVID-19 research articles were extracted from 32 pharmacy practice journals indexed in Scopus for the study period from 01 January 2020, up until 31 December 2021 Key findings A total of 581 documents were found with an average of 4.5 authors per article and 4.8 citations per document. The retrieved documents were published in 28 pharmacy practice-related journals with the Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy and the American Journal of Health System Pharmacy journals being the leaders in this field. The major findings of the analysis indicated (1) a limited number of contributing countries with limited author-author interactions and cross country collaboration; (2) specific topics were encountered, mainly hospital pharmacy services, survey studies on knowledge, and pharmacy education; (3) several contributing countries in the Middle East, mainly Saudi Arabia; Egypt, and Jordan contributed to the retrieved documents, and (4) the highly-cited documents discussed issues related to pharmacy services and role of the community pharmacists during the pandemic. Conclusion Research activity on COVID-19 in pharmacy practice journals represents the commitment of researchers and professionals to transform and promote the profession of pharmacy. Research on pharmacy practice and pharmacists in low- and middle-income countries during pandemics needs to be prioritized by scholars and journal editors.