The global development trend of occupational therapy applied in stroke: A bibliometric study and visualized analysis via VOSviewer and CiteSpace from 2006 to 2025

BACKGROUND: Occupational therapy (OT) is an important component of stroke rehabilitation, but the global research landscape, collaboration patterns, research hotspots, and emerging trends in OT for stroke have not been systematically mapped. This bibliometric study aimed to analyze publications on OT for stroke from 2006 to 2025 and provide evidence for future clinical practice and research planning. METHODS: English-language articles related to OT for stroke were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection from January 1, 2006, to October 31, 2025. After applying predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, bibliometric and visualization analyses were performed using VOSviewer and CiteSpace 6.4.R1. Publication trends, countries, institutions, authors, journals, keyword co-occurrence, keyword clustering, timeline evolution, and burst terms were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 770 publications were included. The annual number of publications showed a fluctuating but overall upward trend, with the highest output observed in 2021 and 2022, each with 60 publications. The United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and China were the leading contributing countries, while Jikei University and La Trobe University were the most productive institutions. The most prolific authors were Masahiro Abo and Louise Gustafsson. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy and Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation were the leading journals in terms of publication output. Keyword analyses showed that early research mainly focused on upper-limb function, functional recovery, and basic rehabilitation interventions, whereas recent hotspots have expanded to neurorehabilitation, knowledge translation, virtual reality, clinical trials, mental health, and home-based rehabilitation. CONCLUSION: Research on OT for stroke has increased overall over the past 2 decades, with evolving hotspots from impairment-oriented rehabilitation toward broader, occupation-centered, participation-oriented, technology-assisted, and home-based rehabilitation approaches. However, collaboration among countries, institutions, and authors remains relatively fragmented. Future studies should strengthen international and interdisciplinary cooperation and generate high-quality clinical evidence to support OT practice in stroke rehabilitation.