Bibliometric analysis of scientific articles on rehabilitation nursing for adult burn patients in China

Objective To analyze the current research status of rehabilitation nursing for adult burn patients in China, and to discuss the related strategies. Methods Chinese scientific articles on adult burn patients' rehabilitation nursing published from January 2003 to December 2013 were retrieved from 3 databases namely China Biology Medicine disc, Chinese Journals Full–text Database, and Chinese Science and Technology Journals Database. From the results retrieved, data with regard to publication year, journal distribution, research type, region of affiliation of the first author, and the main research content were collected. Data were processed with Microsoft Excel software. Results A total of 417 articles conforming with the criteria were retrieved. During the 11 years, the number of the relevant articles per year was on the rise, and the increasing rates in 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2013 were all above 30%. Regarding the distribution among journals, these 417 articles were published in 151 journals, with 188 articles in Source Journal for Chinese Scientific and Technical Papers, accounting for 45.08%. Regarding the research type, 173 out of the 417 articles were dealing with clinical experiences, accounting for 41.49%; 172 out of the 417 articles were dealing with experimental studies, accounting for 41.25%. The regions of affiliation of the first author were mainly situated in Guangdong province, Shandong province, Hunan province, and Jiangsu province, with Guangdong province contributing 58 articles, accounting for 13.91%. The research content of these articles was mainly focused on psychological nursing, nursing model, and health education, respectively 188, 101, and 85 articles, accounting for 45.08%, 24.22%, and 20.38%. Conclusions The research on rehabilitation nursing for adult burn patients in China has been carried out nationwide. Although the number of relevant papers is on the rise, the quality of these papers needs to be further improved. There is an urgent need for the guideline on rehabilitation nursing for adult burn patients in China so as to standardize the content and procedure of rehabilitation nursing.