Research topics on pressure injury prevention and measurement tools from 1997 to 2023: A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer

Abstract

ObjectivesTo identify and visualize studies on pressure injuries in intensive care units, prevention of pressure injuries and measurement tools, and reveal the global trends in this field. Research methodology/designDescriptive and bibliometric analysis method study. SettingData were obtained from the “Web of Science Core Collection” database on July 12th, 2023. For bibliometric data, the Web of Science database was searched with the keywords “intensive care unit,“ ”pressure injury,“ ”prevention,“ ”risk assessment tools,“ and critical care.” Performance analysis, scientific mapping, and bibliometric analyses were completed using the VOSviewer (1.6.15) software program for a total of 326 publications. Main outcome measuresPublication, cluster, link and network map on pressure injury, prevention and risk measurement tools. ResultsAs a result of the analysis, the most used keywords were “pressure injury,” “pressure ulcer,” “critical care,” “pressure ulcers,” “intensive care unit,” and “pressure injuries.” The journal with the highest number of publications (n = 55) was “Journal of Wound Ostomy Continence Nursing”, the highest number of articles (n = 47) was published in 2022, the most active institution was “Queensland University of Technology Qut” (20 articles), the country that published the most was the United States of America (171 articles), the institution that provided the most funding was the “National Institutes of Health NIH USA” (20 articles), and Cox J. was the author who published the most articles. ConclusionThis study highlights popular fields of research in pressure injury prevention and risk measurement tools aimed at improving quality of care in intensive care units. Implications for Clinical PracticeThe bibliometric analysis method used in the study can lead nurses to conduct research to prevent pressure injuries in critical care patients and develop risk measurement tools to overcome deficiencies such as prevention tools and objective risk measurement tools in this field.