Research hotspots of advanced practice nurses in trauma based on CiteSpace:a visual analysis

CHENG Xiaoxue; SHI Ping; LIU Yunhong

doi:10.12102/j.issn.2095-8668.2025.05.020

Abstract：Objective: To analyze the current status, research hotspots, and trends of trauma advanced practice nurse (APN) research, providing guidance and reference for related research in China. Methods: Literature related to trauma advanced practice nurses was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database, with a search period from the establishment of the database to June 25, 2023. The CiteSpace 5.8.R1 visualization analysis software was used for keyword co-occurrence analysis, clustering analysis, and burst term analysis. Results: A total of 1,056 papers were screened, showing an overall upward trend in the number of publications each year. The top three countries in terms of publication volume were the United States (537 papers), the United Kingdom (123 papers), and Australia (93 papers). Research institutions were mainly concentrated at Vanderbilt University, University of California, San Francisco, and Monash University in Australia. Institutions with close cooperation included Curtin University, Fujita Health University, and the University of Tokyo. The research hotspots of trauma APNs mainly focused on trauma, nursing, impact, outcomes, management, mortality rate, emergency department, and education and training. The research frontiers were concentrated in areas such as post-traumatic stress disorder, qualitative research, and quality improvement. Conclusion: Developed countries in Europe and America are leading in research on trauma advanced practice nurses. China's configuration of human resources for trauma care is still in the exploratory stage. Domestic researchers can conduct studies around the research hotspots and frontiers, exploring a path for APN training, practice, and management that suits China's national conditions, thereby promoting the development of trauma nursing practices in China.