Knowledge mapping of burnout among nursing professionals: A bibliometric study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Public Health
• Occupational Psychology

Background:

• Occupational burnout, a state of exhaustion from work stress, significantly impacts healthcare workers, particularly nurses.
• Increased work pressures and the global health situation have led to a rise in nurse burnout, affecting well-being and care quality.
• Research on occupational burnout among nurses is crucial for addressing these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the current research status of occupational burnout among nurses.
• To identify key research hotspots and analyze trends in this field.
• To provide a reference for future research directions in nurse burnout.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of 977 articles published between 2004 and 2024 from the Web of Science database.
• Utilized R software (bibliometrix package), Citespace, and VOSviewer for statistical analysis of publication data.
• Analyzed publication year, authors, journals, and keywords to map research landscape.

Main Results:

• A steady increase in studies, with a significant surge post-COVID-19 in 2020.
• Leading research output from the United States, China, and Spain, with notable US-China and Spain-Chile collaborations.
• Identified three research phases: mental health correlations, job satisfaction predictors, and post-2020 systemic analyses, with a growing focus on protective factors.

Conclusions:

• Enduring themes include stress, job satisfaction, and caregiving, with recent trends emphasizing pandemic-related factors.
• The study provides a comprehensive overview of research status and trends in nurse occupational burnout.
• Future research should broaden data sources and explore burnout across diverse cultural contexts.