Influential journals in health research: a bibliometric study

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics
• Health Research
• Journal Impact

Background:

• Health research literature evolves with disease patterns.
• Bibliometric analysis provides insights into scientific output.
• Understanding journal impact is crucial for research dissemination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify leading journals in health research over a 25-year period (1990-2014).
• To analyze journal performance using various bibliometric indicators.
• To map the landscape of influential health research publications.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database.
• Classification of health research into nine distinct subfields.
• Evaluation using citation counts, h-index, and citations per paper.

Main Results:

• American Journal of Epidemiology, Environmental Health Perspectives, American Journal of Public Health, and Social Science & Medicine received the most citations.
• Annual Review of Public Health and Medical Care showed strong performance by other indicators.
• Leading journals varied across the nine health subfields, indicating diverse research profiles.

Conclusions:

• Bibliometric analysis reveals leading journals in health research.
• Journal landscape includes established and emerging publications.
• Diverse journals cater to specific niches within health research.