Research hotspots and frontiers in digital public health research in China and abroad

ObjectiveTo comprehensively and objectively describe the development history, research hotspots, and trends of digital public health, providing a reference for future digital public health research. MethodsBy searching the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WOS) core databases for digital public health-related research literature from January 1990 to June 2023, 6 437 articles from CNKI and 5 344 articles from WOS were included. Using the bibliometric analysis software CiteSpace, visual analysis, keyword co-occurrence, cluster analysis, timeline analysis, and burst analysis were conducted on all retrieved literature. ResultsSince 2013, the discipline of public health has entered a rapid development stage. Domestic and international research jointly focuses on infectious and chronic disease monitoring and prediction, as well as the extensive application of emerging technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence in the field of public health. The Chinese keyword co-occurrence knowledge map contains 728 nodes and 2 286 connections, with 56 clusters formed among Chinese keywords. Domestic research focuses on healthcare system construction, with research hotspots including informatization and electronic medical record management. The English keyword co-occurrence knowledge map contains 980 nodes and 3 824 connections, with 67 clusters formed among English keywords. International research emphasizes disease intervention methods, with research hotspots including social media and digital mental health. ConclusionThe discipline of digital public health is currently in a period of rapid development, with research contents and trends closely related to the development and innovation of digital technology and major public health events. In the future, personalized digital health services will become a research hotspot, and the discipline of digital public health has broad prospects.