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. 2025 May 30:7:1582719.
doi: 10.3389/fdgth.2025.1582719. eCollection 2025.

The evolution of digital health: a global, Latin American, and Brazilian bibliometric analysis

Maria Eulália Vinadé Chagas #  1 , Gabriela de Oliveira Laguna Silva #  1 , Gabriel Ricardo Fernandes  1 , Gabriela Tizianel Aguilar  1 , Mariana Motta Dias da Silva  2 , Evandro Luis Moraes  3 , Isadora D Avila Lottici  1 , Jerusa da Rosa de Amorim  1 , Tiago de Abreu  4 , Taís de Campos Moreira  1 , Felipe Cezar Cabral  5
Affiliations

The evolution of digital health: a global, Latin American, and Brazilian bibliometric analysis

Maria Eulália Vinadé Chagas et al. Front Digit Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Digital health provides remote healthcare assistance, contributing to reducing inequalities in access to services. For its widespread adoption, it is essential to disseminate successful models implemented in countries with developed digital health networks, so that they can be adapted and replicated in developing regions. The dissemination of scientific studies on the topic, combining digital health activities within various contexts with scientific research, is crucial for promoting significant advancements in the understanding and application of these technologies. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of global scientific production in digital health from 2019 to 2024, with special attention to Latin America and Brazil.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted with searches in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The analysis used the Bibliometrix package in RStudio, and the data were filtered for the global dimension, Latin American countries, and Brazil. The authorship analysis was restricted to publications with at least one Brazilian author and was carried out through a manual check of each record. The protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework platform under the number 10.17605/OSF.IO/43WQ5.

Results: A total of 51,723 publications were included in the global dimension, 2,410 in Latin America, and 1,317 in the Brazilian analysis. The number of publications increased from 2019 to 2021. In the global scenario, the United States led scientific production in digital health, whereas Brazil led in Latin America.

Conclusion: Digital health has expanded exponentially, consolidating itself as a strategic pillar in healthcare systems. Investments in international collaborations that encourage knowledge exchange, strengthen research networks, and drive scientific publications are essential. These partnerships are crucial for adapting digital tools to different socioeconomic contexts and ensuring equitable care for the population.

Keywords: Brazil; Latin America; bibliometric analysis; digital health; telemedicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study identification flowchart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The annual evolution of digital health scientific production between 2019 and 2024 worldwide.
Figure 3
Figure 3
World map showing the geographical distribution of digital health scientific production between 2019 and 2024. Darker shades indicate a higher number of publications.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Three main clusters were identified: led by Harvard University (blue), University of London (red), and German universities (green). The density of connections reflects global interaction among the institutions.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The top 20 journals with the highest number of publications based on the total number of articles published in the world from 2019 to 2024.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The top 20 authors with Brazilian affiliations based on the highest number of publications worldwide from 2019 to 2024.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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