Co-word clustering analysis on hotspots of transitional care research in China

Objective To analyze the research hotspots of transitional care in China. Methods To retrieve the transitional care research literature in China national knowledge internet (CNKI) , Chinese science and technology journal database (VIP) , and Wanfang database. We counted up the key word frequency by Bibliographic Item Co-occurrence Matrix Builder (Bicomb) and constructed the co-word matrix. The cluster analysis was carried out by using SPSS 19.0 software, and the hot spots were analyzed according to the tree diagram. Results Totals of 2 814 valid papers and 2 921 effective keyword were selected. Totals of 34 high-frequency key words were intercepted. The clustering dendrogram showed that research hotspots were divided into five major categories. The transitional care research was focused on the following aspects: high quality nursing service and patient's satisfaction; transitional care research of breast cancer chemotherapy, PICC complications and rehabilitation of coronary heart disease; study on transitional care outside hospital by modern communication methods; community transitional care for the elderly and chronic diseases; and study on transitional care effect evaluation of patients' quality of life. Conclusions Co-word clustering analysis can reveal the research focus of transitional care in China and provide reference for researchers in this field. Key words: Transitional nursing; Co-word analysis; Clustering analysis; Research hotspots