Mapping a decade of health crisis research in India (2015–2024): an integrated scientometric, sentiment and topic modelling assessment

Purpose This study explores research trends, thematic evolution and future research directions in health crisis research in India during 2015–2024. It integrates bibliometric analysis, sentiment analysis and topic modeling to examine India's scholarly contributions on epidemics, pandemics, environmental hazards, socio-economic disruptions and related health crises. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method analytical framework was adopted. Data were extracted from the Scopus database using a comprehensive search strategy. Biblioshiny and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric and network analyses. TextBlob supported sentiment analysis, while BERTopic identified latent research themes. A total of 3,786 publications were analysed to examine research productivity, collaboration, sentiment and emerging research directions. Findings Health crisis research in India expanded rapidly after 2020. International collaboration accounted for 27.6% of publications. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified six thematic clusters covering epidemiology, mental health, crisis communication, environmental health, behavioural responses and governance. Sentiment analysis showed that most publications adopted a positive and objective academic tone. BERTopic identified 12 dominant themes. These themes highlighted future priorities in policy preparedness, health-system resilience, supply-chain continuity, misinformation management and climate-related health crises. Practical implications The findings support policymakers and researchers in strengthening crisis preparedness, public-health communication, resilient healthcare systems and climate-health planning. Originality/value This study provides the first integrated scientometric assessment of health crisis research in India. It combines bibliometric, social network, sentiment and BERTopic analyses. The findings are interpreted through crisis management, health-system resilience and crisis governance frameworks. This approach identifies knowledge gaps and future research priorities.