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Review
. 2024 Sep 29;10(21):e38675.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38675. eCollection 2024 Nov 15.

Research trends of acupressure from 2004 to 2024: A bibliometric and visualization analysis

Zhi-Qiang Li  1 , Mary Yue Jiang  2 , Xue-Han Liu  1 , Yi-Qing Cai  1 , Chen-Lu Wang  1 , Feng Cao  1 , Jian-Ping Liu  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Research trends of acupressure from 2004 to 2024: A bibliometric and visualization analysis

Zhi-Qiang Li et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Background: Acupressure has proven efficacy in symptoms management, making it valuable in clinical practice and patient care. Given the rising number of increasing publications on acupressure, we aimed to analyze the literature from the past 20 years and provided current trends and hotspot for future research directions.

Methods: Publications on acupressure from January 1, 2004 through May 1, 2024 were retrieved from the Web of Science database. The extracted records underwent thorough analysis based on publication year, research area, journal, countries/regions, organization, authors, and keywords. The bibliometric analysis was conducted using Citespace and Microsoft Excel software.

Results: Of the 1,929 screened records, 770 publications were identified. The annual number of acupressure has gradually increased, with the 45 % of the total publication occurring from 2020 to 2024. Among countries and institutions, China (252 articles) and Hong Kong Polytechnic University (41 articles) have the highest number of publications. Notably, USA and Hong Kong Polytechnic University exhibits the highest centrality score in cooperative network among countries/regions and institutions. Chao Hsing Yeh from the Cizik School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center, was the most prolific author with 22 papers. Evidence-Based Comple Alt, with 53 articles, is the journal with the most publications. According to the keyword, timeline diagram and prominence mapping analysis, we believe that "insomnia", "labor", "waist circumference", "reliability" and "vagus nerve stimulation" related clusters may be new hotspots in the field of acupressure.

Conclusion: This study presents the research trajectory of acupressure over the past 20 years, providing a foundation for future research and highlighting the significant contributions of nursing researchers. By analyzing research trends and hotsport, nursing professionals can integrate acupressure more effectively into holistic patient care, improving quality of life, and contributing to traditional Chinese medicine.

Keywords: Acupressure; Bibliometrics; Hot spot; Nursing; Research trends.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(A) The number of publications and growth trends on acupressure. (B) The number of publications in top 10 countries or regions (KR, Republic of Korea). (C) The network of countries/regions' collaborations. (D). The network of institutions' collaborations.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(A) Top 10 institutions in terms of number of publications related to acupressure. (B) Top 10 author and their affiliates in terms of number of publications related to acupressure. (C) Top 10 keywords ranked by occurrences and corresponding centrality. (D) Top 10 keywords ranked by centrality and corresponding occurrences.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
(A) Keywords clusters of acupressure. (B) Timeline diagram of keywords on topics of acupressure.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
(A) Keywords clusters of auricular acupressure. (B) Timeline diagram of keywords on topics of auricular acupressure. (C) Keywords clusters of self-administered acupressure. (D) Timeline diagram of keywords on topics of self-administered acupressure.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
(A) The top 12 keywords with the strongest citation bursts of acupressure from 2004 to 2024. (B) The Network map of co-cited references from the publications of acupressure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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