Five-Year Bibliometric Review of Genomic Nursing Science Research

This bibliometric review profiles the focus, dissemination, and impact of genomic nursing science articles from 2010 to 2014.

Data-based genomic nursing articles by nursing authors and articles by non-nurse principal investigators funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research were categorized into the Genomic Nursing Science Blueprint nursing areas.

Bibliometric content analysis was used.

A total of 197 articles met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 60.3% were on biologic plausibility, 12.1% on client self-management, 11.1% on decision making or decision support, 8.1% on family, and 4.0% on communication, with the remaining 4.0% of articles focused on other topics. Few (11.6%) addressed healthcare disparities in the study purpose. Thirty-four references (17.2%) were cited 10 or more times.

Research-based genomic nursing science articles are in the discovery phase of inquiry. All topics were investigated in more than one country. Healthcare disparities were addressed in few studies. Research findings from interdisciplinary teams were disseminated beyond nursing audiences, with findings addressing biologic discovery, decision making or support, and family being cited most frequently. Gaps in the reviewed articles included cross-cutting themes, ethics, and clinical utility. Interdisciplinary research is needed to document clinical and system outcomes of genomic nursing science implementation in health care.

Although the review identifies areas that are encountered in clinical practice, relevance to practice will depend on evaluation of findings and subsequent development of clinical guidelines.