Global research trends on psychosocial rehabilitation in patients with cardiovascular diseases: A bibliometric analysis using CiteSpace

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) pose a serious threat to global public health due to its high prevalence and mortality. Meanwhile, psychosocial rehabilitation (PSR) has gained popularity due to its beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. There is substantial evidence that PSR is effective in lessening cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in CVD patients. To learn more about the development of PSR, 3,759 publications about PSR and related research were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection from 1989 to 2022. Then, these publications were analysed using CiteSpace 6.1.R3 (64-bit) W version software in terms of country and institution-based analysis, author co-citation analysis (ACA), keyword analysis, and document co-citation analysis (DCA). The outcomes were elaborated in four aspects. First, the number of annual publications related to PSR has consistently increased in last three decades. Second, country and institution-based analysis showed that a few developed countries such as the United States, England and Canada, and institutions such as the Harvard University, the University of California, and the University of Toronto were the most active countries and institutions in carrying out PSR-related studies. Third, author co-citation analysis (ACA) revealed that Sherry L. Grace from York University had the highest number of publications (35). Her research majorly focused on optimizing post-acute cardiovascular care and its outcomes that contribute to the field of PSR. Frasure-Smith had the highest burst count of 41.39. His research mainly emphasized on the impact of psychological stress in acute myocardial infarction which is related to CVD. Document co-citation analysis (DCA) revealed that epidemiologic evidence was the predominant cluster in the domain of PSR. Fourth, Keyword based analysis showed that keywords such as coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, acute myocardial infarction and major depression made outstanding contribution to the PSR field. In conclusion, this study has provided useful information for gaining knowledge about PSR such as identifying potential contributors for researchers interested in the field of PSR, and discovering research trends in PSR, which can provide guidance for more extensive studies related to PSR in the future.