INSIGHTS INTO THE STATE OF PAIN MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

Pain management is a medical speciality focused on diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. It is implied indirectly that healthcare personnel are essential for pain management to enhance patients’ quality of life. This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis of pain management research using the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases by assessing the trend in pain management research output and identifying pain management research topics and trends. The Scopus and WoS databases were utilised to locate pain management-related publications. Using ScientoPy and VOSviewer, the gathered datasets were then analysed. From 2012 to 2022, Scopus and WoS databases demonstrated an upward trend in pain management research production. WoS grew consistently from 436 in 2012 to 900 in 2022, whilst Scopus grew similarly but more modestly from 205 in 2012 to 302 in 2022. With 3,332 papers, the United States has regularly led the world in pain management research production. “Pain”, with 1717 papers, is the most researched theme in pain management research, followed by “pain management”, with 1584 publications, “analgesia” and “opioid”, With 867 and 649 papers, respectively. The co-occurrence analysis of authors’ keywords found that “analgesia”, “pain”, “pain management”, “chronic pain”, “opioid”, and “acute pain” were the most tightly interconnected and had the most substantial relationship. This study’s findings provide valuable insights into the current state of pain management research and highlight the need for ongoing research to develop more effective pain management strategies and enhance patients’ quality of life.