Swedish nursing research: A bibliometric and content analysis revealing author and institute collaborations, impact, and topics

Abstract

Nursing research plays a pivotal role in advancing healthcare practices and guiding the nursing profession. Given its global impact, understanding the unique characteristics of individual countries is important for identifying and comprehending the successful components of nursing research infrastructures. The aim of the present study was to analyze nursing research articles indexed as Swedish in the Web of Science Core Collection from the database's inception to the time of data collection. A search string was developed and employed to find relevant publications. Original research and review articles, indexed as Swedish and written in English, were included. Using a bibliometric and content analytical approach, evaluations of both research publications and their corresponding topics were conducted. A total of 7213 articles were included. The most prolific authors were part of extensive networks, as were the most productive higher educational institutes. International co-authorship made up 32% of all publications. The findings reveal comparably high productivity among Swedish nursing researchers, likely attributed to international collaborations as well as collaborations between universities and university hospitals. The research spanned diverse clinical and nursing-specific areas. The most cited articles focused on methodological or conceptual aspects. Current research topic trends encompass health literacy and telehealth/digital health.