Insight into global research on health literacy and heart diseases: A bibliometric analysis

Le Duc Huy; Nguyen L T Truong; Nhi Y Hoang; Nhi Thi Hong Nguyen; Thao T P Nguyen; Loan T Dang; Yi-Hsin Elsa Hsu; Chung-Chien Huang; Yao-Mao Chang; Chung-Liang Shih; Elena T Carbone; Shwu-Huey Yang; Tuyen V Duong

doi:10.3389/fcvm.2022.1012531

Insight into global research on health literacy and heart diseases: A bibliometric analysis

Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022 Nov 24:9:1012531. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.1012531. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Le Duc Huy¹, Nguyen L T Truong^{2

3}, Nhi Y Hoang⁴, Nhi Thi Hong Nguyen^{1

5}, Thao T P Nguyen⁶, Loan T Dang^{7

8}, Yi-Hsin Elsa Hsu^{5

9

10}, Chung-Chien Huang^{5

10

11

12}, Yao-Mao Chang^{5

13}, Chung-Liang Shih¹⁴, Elena T Carbone¹⁵, Shwu-Huey Yang^{4

16

17}, Tuyen V Duong^{4

18}

Affiliations

¹ Health Personnel Training Institute, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue University, Hue, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam.
² School of Medicine, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
³ Pharmacy Department, Thong Nhat Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
⁴ School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ School of Health Care Administration, College of Management, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁶ Institute for Community Health Research, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hue University, Hue, Vietnam.
⁷ School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁸ Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁹ Executive Master Program of Business Administration in Biotechnology, College of Management, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁰ International Ph.D. Program in Biotech and Healthcare Management, College of Management, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹¹ Department of Long-Term Care and School of Gerontology Health Management, College of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹² School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹³ Research Center of Health and Welfare Policy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁴ Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁵ Department of Nutrition, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, United States.
¹⁶ Nutrition Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁷ Research Center of Geriatric Nutrition, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
¹⁸ International Master/Ph.D. Program in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

Background: Health literacy (HL) has shown its important role on reducing the burden of heart diseases. However, no study has provided a comprehensive worldwide view of the data regarding HL and heart diseases. The study aimed to provide insight into: (1) the intellectual structure, (2) research trends, and (3) research gaps on HL and heart diseases; and (4) to explore HL scales commonly utilized in heart studies.

Materials and methods: Studies related to HL and heart diseases were retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. All publications published between 2000 and 2021 were included after conducting keyword searches on "heart diseases" in general or on specific types of heart diseases (e.g., "heart failure") and "health literacy". Bibliometric analyses were carried out using the Bibliometrix R package and VOSviewer 1.6.14.

Findings: A total of 388 original research articles and reviews on HL and heart diseases were included in our study. The studies were primarily conducted in the United States and developed countries. A total of 337 studies (86.9%) focused on heart failure (200 studies, 51.5%) and ischemic heart diseases (137 studies, 35.3%). Sixty-two studies (16.0%) focused on other heart diseases (e.g., valvular diseases and rheumatic heart diseases). The number of interventional studies was limited (52 studies, 13.4%) and fluctuated from 2000 to 2021. The most common questionnaires measuring health literacy among patients with heart diseases were the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA), Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (STOFHLA), and Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS). Use of the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) has become the latest trend among patients with heart diseases.

Conclusion: Health literacy and heart diseases were most often studied in the United States and developed countries. Several HL tools were used; eHEALS has been lately used in this field. These findings suggest the need to conduct more empirical studies on HL and heart diseases in different settings (e.g., developing or poor countries) and with different types of heart diseases (e.g., valvular and rheumatic disorders). Additionally, it is necessary to develop heart disease-specified HL scales for research and practice.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis; health literacy; heart diseases; heart failure; instruments; ischemic heart diseases.