Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Apr 15:18:2111-2129.
doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S508935. eCollection 2025.

Research Hotspots and Trends in Workplace Violence Among Healthcare Professionals: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis Based on Web of Science

Qin Lin #  1   2 , Linfeng Liu #  3 , Mengxue Fu #  2 , Kanlun Chen #  4 , Ling Li  1 , Minmin Jiang  1 , Jijun Wu  5
Affiliations
Review

Research Hotspots and Trends in Workplace Violence Among Healthcare Professionals: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis Based on Web of Science

Qin Lin et al. J Multidiscip Healthc. .

Abstract

Background: Workplace violence is a significant issue in healthcare settings, affecting the physical and psychological health of healthcare professionals and compromising patient care quality. Despite growing concerns, a comprehensive understanding of the research landscape remains limited.

Objective: This study aims to analyze the research hotspots and trends in workplace violence among healthcare professionals through bibliometric and visualization analysis, providing insights into the current state of research and identifying future directions.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search of the Web of Science database from inception to August 10, 2024, identifying relevant studies on workplace violence among healthcare professionals. A total of 937 publications were included for analysis. Bibliometric and visualization analysis software (CiteSpace, VOSviewer, BICOMB, and gCLUTO) were used to analyze authors, affiliations, and keywords, and to visualize research trends and hotspots.

Results: Our analysis revealed 9 distinct clusters of research hotspots, including risk factors, affected departments, demographics, and impacts of workplace violence. Key findings indicate that emergency departments and nursing staff are particularly vulnerable, with significant impacts on mental health and job satisfaction. The study also highlights the increasing trend of publications over the years, reflecting growing research interest in this area.

Conclusion: The findings reveal that workplace violence is a significant issue affecting the mental and physical health of healthcare professionals, with notable impacts on job satisfaction, patient care quality, and overall organizational climate. Future efforts should focus on strengthening collaborations and developing targeted interventions to mitigate workplace violence, thereby enhancing the safety and quality of healthcare services.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; healthcare professionals; research hotspots; visualization analysis; workplace violence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the literature on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Line graph of publication counts on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Co-authorship network map of publications on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Co-citation network map of authors on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Affiliations co-publication network map on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Dual-map overlay of journals on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Co-citation network map of journals on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Co-citation network map of references on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Keyword co-occurrence map on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Density visualization analysis map of keywords on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Bidirectional clustering matrix map of keywords on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Dendrogram of keywords on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Keyword burst map on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Keyword timeline map on workplace violence among healthcare professionals.
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Rossi MF, Beccia F, Cittadini F, et al. Workplace violence against healthcare workers: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Public Health. 2023;221:50–59. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2023.05.021 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hanson LLM, Pentti J, Nordentoft M, et al. Association of workplace violence and bullying with later suicide risk: a multicohort study and meta-analysis of published data. Lancet Public Health. 2023;8(7):e494–e503. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(23)00096-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sari H, Yildiz I, Baloğlu SC, et al. The frequency of workplace violence against healthcare workers and affecting factors. PLoS One. 2023;18(7):e0289363. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0289363 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hollis LP. Foundational framing: a brief literature review on workplace bullying research topics. Instrum Soc Justice Higher Educ. 2024;2024:145–156.
    1. Derdowski LA, Mathisen GE. Psychosocial factors and safety in high-risk industries: a systematic literature review. Saf Sci. 2023;157:105948. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2022.105948 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources