A Visualized Bibliometric Analysis of Illness Narratives Research in Mainland China

This exploratory study examines journal articles from CNKI from 1996 to 2023 and uses the scientific measurement software CiteSpace for bibliometric analysis. By identifying literature related to illness narratives, a total of 619 relevant articles were obtained. The study then explores the most frequently discussed topics, hotspots, and development trends in illness narratives research by analyzing institutional affiliations, keywords, development trends, and more. The findings reveal that: (1) Southern Medical University is a leading research institution in illness narratives in mainland China. (2) Illness narratives research primarily forms an interdisciplinary study between literature and medicine through narrative medicine. (3) The most frequently discussed topics in the literature on illness narratives include metaphor, ethics, gender, body, and trauma while medical humanities and narrative nursing are mostly discussed in the medical field. (4) Illness narratives research in mainland China has undergone three stages of development and has now entered a mature phase, focusing on medical illness narratives. (5) In the future, research on illness narratives will delve deeper into interdisciplinary studies between literature and medicine. Additionally, it will seek collaborative research opportunities with other humanities disciplines to explore new pathways.