Knowledge structure and theme trends analysis on general practitioner research: A Co-word perspective

BMC Family Practice

Research Article

Yang Hong¹  Ying Yang¹  Jun-jian Feng¹  Wen-xue Ji¹  Shu-de Wu¹  Lan Yao¹  Zhi-yong Liu¹  Qiang Yao² 

[1] School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430030, Wuhan, Hubei, China;School of Political Science and Public Administration, Wuhan University, 430072, Wuhan, Hubei, China;

关键词: General practitioners;    Research trends;    Co-word analysis;    Social network analysis;    Knowledge map;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12875-016-0403-5

 received in 2014-12-06, accepted in 2016-01-15,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundGeneral practitioners (GPs) are the most important providers of primary health care, as proven by related research published several decades ago. However, the knowledge structure and theme trends of such research remain unclear. Accordingly, this study aimed to provide an overview of the development of research on GPs over the period of 1999 to 2014.MethodsStudies on GPs conducted from 1999 to 2014 were retrieved from PubMed. In this work, co-word, social network analysis, and theme trends analyses were conducted to reveal the knowledge structures and thematic evolution of research on GPs.ResultsThe number of conducted studies on GPs increased. However, growth speed slowed down during the past 16 years. A total of 27 high-frequency keywords were identified in 1999 to 2003, and more new and specific high-frequency keywords emerged in the subsequent periods. The dynamic of this field was first divergent and then considered convergent. Specifically, network centralization is 19.77 %, 19.09 %, and 13.04 % in 1999 to 2003, 2004 to 2008 and 2009 to 2014, respectively. The major topics of research on GPs completed from 1999 to 2014 were “physician/family,”“attitude of health personnel,” and “primary health care,” and “general practitioner” communities, and so on.ConclusionThe research themes on GPs are relatively stable at the beginning of the 21st century. However, the thematic evolution and research topics of research on GPs are changing dynamically in recent years. Themes related to the roles and competencies of GPs, and the relations between general practitioner and patients/others have become research foci on GPs. In addition, more substantial research especially on comprehensive approaches and holistic modeling, which have been defined in the European Definition of General Practice/Family Medicine, are expected to be accomplished.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Hong et al. 2016

【 图 表 】

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