Trends and insights in global hospital quality of care research: implications for health leadership and service improvement

Abstract

Introduction: improving healthcare quality has become a global priority, yet a comprehensive analysis of hospital healthcare quality research over the past two decades is still missing. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the global research landscape on hospital healthcare quality over the past two decades through a bibliometric approach. Specifically, it seeks to identify publication trends, geographic distribution, collaboration patterns, key thematic clusters, and evolving research priorities, while highlighting existing gaps and potential future directions in hospital healthcare quality research.Methods: this study examine the development of this field through a bibliometric analysis of 836 publications from the Scopus database (2004–2025), using OpenRefine, Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and Tableau. Results: the analysis reveals a steady annual publication growth rate of 2.7 and a dominant contribution from the United States (45.5%). International collaboration remains limited (13.4%), with most research originating from academic institutions. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified three major research clusters: conceptual-managerial frameworks, methodological-epidemiological approaches, and specific patient safety indicators. Over time, the focus of research has shifted from clinical complications to quality frameworks and patient-centered systems. Key gaps include uneven geographic representation, limited global validation of quality indicators, minimal integration of patient perspectives, and difficulty in measuring qualitative aspects of hospital care.Conclusions: future research will likely focus on digital technologies, artificial intelligence, value-based care, and equity-oriented system approaches. This study offers a foundational overview of the field’s evolution and highlights areas for future investigation.

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