Bibliometric-based visualization analysis of hotspots and trends in falls research among older hospitalized patients...

We utilized Citespace 6.2 R4 software to visualize and analyze the literature published within the past decade (2013-2023) pertaining to falls in elderly hospitalized patients, with the objective of examining the progression and patterns of focal points within this research domain. Our aim is to offer a valuable reference and foundation for related studies and to provide guidance for healthcare professionals and researchers in advancing further exploration and implementation of strategies for preventing and managing falls in elderly patients.

We conducted a literature search in the Web of Science database using keywords such as "older hospitalized patients" and "fall" to develop a search strategy that was highly relevant to the topic of falls among older hospitalized patients. We further limited the literature time range to January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2023, to capture the latest research trends over the past decade. In terms of literature type, we focused on "article" and excluded conference papers, reviews, editorials, etc., to ensure the scientific rigor and reliability of the study. During the screening process, we excluded duplicate publications and those documents that were not directly related to falls among older hospitalized patients, such as those primarily discussing falls in other age groups or non-hospital environments. Although our search had no language restrictions, we only included English-language literature to ensure consistency and readability of the language. Additionally, we evaluated the quality of the literature and excluded those with unclear research methods or unreliable results to ensure the reliability of the research findings. Subsequently, we utilized CiteSpace 6.2 R4 software to generate a knowledge map for visualization and analysis.

Our analysis included a total of 321 articles. The results showed that the majority of contributions in this field came from the United States and China, both of which exhibited an intermediary centrality >0.1, indicating their significant influence. Harvard University became the leading institution with the most published articles (n = 8), while Imagama was identified as the most prolific author (n = 6). Moving forward, combining keywords with the strongest citation bursts, it is expected that the research trends in this field in the future will focus on epidemiology, aging, and health-related topics.

Our study presents a comprehensive investigation into the evolution and trends of research focal points regarding falls in elderly hospitalized patients from 2013 to 2023. Our findings reveal a significant increase in attention toward this research area over the past decade, with a growing number of studies being conducted. Fall risk assessment, prevention strategies, rehabilitation interventions, and costs associated with falls have emerged as the primary research focal points within this field. Furthermore, epidemiology, aging population dynamics, and health outcomes continue to be enduring areas of interest for researchers post-2018 and warrant additional emphasis from scholars.