Wearable Technologies in Nursing Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Wearable technology is widely used in nursing; however, there is lack of information on global outcomes, trends, hot topics, and thematic evolution. This study aimed to explore global outputs, trend topics, and thematic evolution of wearable technology research in nursing. This study is descriptive bibliometric analysis. The Web of Science Core Collection database was searched on July 10, 2024. Data analysis and visualization were performed using the Bibliometrix packages in R software. A total of 678 studies were published by 2915 authors in 125 different journals between 1997 and 2024. There were 1537 author keywords used in this field. The most frequent author keywords were "physical activity," "sleep," "actigraphy," "nursing," and "fatigue." Trend topics in this field were "sedentary behavior," "ecological momentary assessment," and "aged" in recent years. According to thematic map analysis, "feasibility," "research," "chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," "adolescence," and "scoping review" were isolated topics, and "communication" and "monitoring" were new topics. Additionally, "dementia" and "pressure injury" were hot topics, and "physical activity," "sleep," "wearable," "older adults," and "simulation" were the essential topic in this field. This study will help understand key authors, journals, and studies and find potential collaborators, countries, and institutions for future research.