Global research trends on healthcare-associated infections in the context of natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics

Introduction Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) remain a serious public health concern. HAIs risk increases extraordinary events such as natural disasters, epidemics, and pandemics. Material and Methods This study analyzes publication trends related to HAIs in these contexts using bibliometric methods. Publications on HAIs related to natural disasters, epidemics, and pandemics from Scopus without year or document type restrictions were analyzed using VOSviewer to assess trends, keyword co-occurrence, citations, and country productivity. Results A total of 774 publications were analyzed, including 749 on epidemics/pandemics, and 25 on natural disasters. Publications increased notably during epidemics/pandemics, especially during COVID-19. The USA and China were leading publishing countries. Keyword analysis showed that “covıd-19” and “SARS-CoV-2” were most frequent in epidemic-/pandemic-related research, while “earthquake” appeared commonly in disaster-related studies. Before 2015, “nosocomial infections” was widely used, later replaced by “healthcare-associated infections.” From 2018, studies focused more on multidrug-resistant organisms like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae . Recent years emphasized ventilator-associated pneumonia, mechanical ventilation, and Clostridioides difficile infections. Limited keyword data prevented overlay visualization for natural disasters. Conclusions Research on HAIs intensifies during epidemiological crises but remains limited for natural disasters, highlighting the need for further interdisciplinary studies to better understand and reduce HAI risks.