Health Communication: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the scientific trends, developmental trajectory, and structural characteristics of academic studies produced in the field of health communication using bibliometric methods. In this context, 9,518 studies published between 1972 and 2024 in the Web of Science (WoS) database and containing the terms "health communication" or "health and communication" in their titles were analyzed. R-based Biblioshiny for Bibliometrix software was used for data evaluation. The findings indicate that the first publication in the field was produced in 1972, that the studies were published in 2,316 different sources, that the annual publication growth rate was 14.52%, and that the average number of citations per document was 18.16. A consistent increase in the number of publications has been observed particularly after 2004, with a notable acceleration in 2019. The most productive journals are Health Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Patient Education and Counseling, and Journal of Medical Internet Research; while the most productive authors are Gary L. Kreps, Seth M. Noar, and Triveni Kuchi. The results reveal the development of health communication research and provide a guiding framework for future studies.