Mapping Global Research on Infection Prevention and Control for Patient Safety: A Scopus, and VOSviewer Based Bibliometric Analysis (2019–2024)
Abstract
Introduction: Infection prevention and control (IPC) have a significant impact on patient safety and healthcare quality, particularly in global health catastrophes such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to examine global research trends in infection prevention and control (IPC) and patient safety between 2019 and 2024. In addition to providing insight into the development and direction of IPC research, it highlights significant authors, issue fields, and notable works.
Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Scopus database, encompassing a total of 180 documents as of April 1, 2025. The inclusion criteria were documented type ‘Articles’ and ‘reviews’ subject area ‘medicine’ and ‘nursing’ language ‘English’ from 2019- 2024. Data were analysed using Scopus, VOSviewer version 1.1.20.
Results: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in IPC research, culminating in the highest output in 2024. The United States and the United Kingdom were major contributors, while Switzerland, India, South Africa, and Australia showed strong regional participation. Notably, rising contributions from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) signal growing global inclusivity. Mainly, institutional contributors included the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève. D. Pittet was recognised as the most productive author. Citation analysis identified highly influential studies, with the top-cited article being 129 citations. Keyword co-occurrence mapping revealed nine thematic clusters, including infection control practices, personal protective equipment, and healthcare quality improvement.
Conclusion: As demonstrated by the growing research output and global collaboration, the findings reflect the evolution of IPC into a multidisciplinary domain, exposing underexplored regions and themes in the literature. IPC has emerged as a central pillar of
Contemporary health systems. Rising contributions from low— and middle-income countries indicate increased global engagement and adherence to international standards.
References
Torriani F, Taplitz R. TRENDS AND COMPLEXITY OF CURRENT HEALTH CARE IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
Khan HA, Baig FK, Mehboob R. Nosocomial infections: Epidemiology, prevention, control and surveillance. Vol. 7, Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. Hainan Medical University; 2017. p. 478–82.
Voidazan S, Albu S, Toth R, Grigorescu B, Rachita A, Moldovan I. Healthcare associated infections—a new pathology in medical practice? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020 Feb 1;17(3).
Marcel JP, Alfa M, Baquero F, Etienne J, Goossens H, Harbarth S, et al. Healthcare-associated infections: Think globally, act locally. Clinical Microbiology and Infection. 2008;14(10):895–907.
Tomczyk S, Storr J, Kilpatrick C, Allegranzi B. Infection prevention and control (IPC) implementation in low-resource settings: a qualitative analysis. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. 2021 Dec 1;10(1).
Bennett N, Tanamas SK, James R, Ierano C, Malloy MJ, Watson E, et al. Healthcare-associated infections in long-term care facilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of point prevalence studies. BMJ Public Health. 2024 May 27;2(1):e000504.
Allegranzi B, Nejad SB, Combescure C, Graafmans W, Attar H, Donaldson L, et al. Burden of endemic health-care-associated infection in developing countries: Systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. 2011;377(9761):228–41.
Storr J, Twyman A, Zingg W, Damani N, Kilpatrick C, Reilly J, et al. Core components for effective infection prevention and control programmes: New WHO evidence-based recommendations. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. 2017 Jan 10;6(1).
Lee MH, Lee GA, Lee SH, Park YH. Effectiveness and core components of infection prevention and control programmes in long-term care facilities: a systematic review. Vol. 102, Journal of Hospital Infection. W.B. Saunders Ltd; 2019. p. 377–93.
Gammon J, Hunt J, Williams S, Daniel S, Rees S, Matthewson S. Infection prevention control and organisational patient safety culture within the context of isolation: Study protocol. BMC Health Services Research. 2019 May 8;19(1).
Moghnieh R, Al-Maani AS, Berro J, Ibrahim N, Attieh R, Abdallah D, et al. Mapping of infection prevention and control education and training in some countries of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region: current situation and future needs. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. 2023 Dec 1;12(1).
Umscheid CA, Mitchell MD, Doshi JA, Agarwal R, Williams K, Brennan PJ. Estimating the Proportion of Healthcare-Associated Infections That Are Reasonably Preventable and the Related Mortality and Costs. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 2011 Feb;32(2):101–14.
Cassini A, Plachouras D, Eckmanns T, Abu Sin M, Blank HP, Ducomble T, et al. Burden of Six Healthcare-Associated Infections on European Population Health: Estimating Incidence-Based Disability-Adjusted Life Years through a Population Prevalence-Based Modelling Study. PLoS Medicine. 2016 Oct 1;13(10).
IMPROVING INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL AT THE HEALTH FACILITY Interim practical manual supporting implementation of the WHO Guidelines on Core Components of Infection Prevention and Control Programmes. 2018.
BAYER N, GÜRSEL G, TURUNÇ Ö, MERT ?S, AKBA? MÇ, ALTAY M, et al. Bibliometric Analysis of Patient Safety in Nursing. 2024.
Seers K. Qualitative systematic reviews: their importance for our understanding of research relevant to pain. Br J Pain. 2015 Feb;9(1):36–40.
Baas J, Schotten M, Plume AM, Cote G, Karimi R. Scopus as a curated, high-quality bibliometric data source for academic research in quantitative science studies. The MIT Press Journals. 2020 Feb;1(1):377–86.
Zhao D, Strotmann A. Analysis and Visualization of Citation Networks. Vol. 7, Synthesis Lectures on Information Concepts, Retrieval, and Services. 2015.
Razimoghadam M, Yaseri M, Rezaee M, Fazaeli A, Daroudi R. Non-COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran: a longitudinal assessment of 41 million people in 2019–2022. BMC Public Health. 2024 Dec 1;24(1).
Suryantoro E, Udin U, Qamari IN. A bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer: Leadership in infection prevention and control. Multidisciplinary Science Journal. 2023 Apr 1;5(2).
Draft National Infection Prevention and Control Strategic Framework National Infection Prevention and Control Strategic Framework. 2020.
Swaminathan S, Prasad J, Dhariwal AC, Guleria R, Misra MC, Malhotra R, et al. Strengthening infection prevention and control and systematic surveillance of healthcare associated infections in India. BMJ (Online). 2017;358:59–62.
Lui RN, Wong SH, Sánchez-Luna SA, Pellino G, Bollipo S, Wong MY, et al. Overview of guidance for endoscopy during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Vol. 35, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Australia). Blackwell Publishing; 2020. p. 749–59.
Vermeil T, Peters A, Kilpatrick C, Pires D, Allegranzi B, Pittet D. Hand hygiene in hospitals: anatomy of a revolution. Journal of Hospital Infection. 2019 Apr 1;101(4):383–92.
Garg S, Basu S, Rustagi R, Borle A. Primary health care facility preparedness for outpatient service provision during the COVID-19 Pandemic in India: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. 2020 Apr 1;6(2).
Thibaut B, Dewa LH, Ramtale SC, D’lima D, Adam S, Ashrafian H, et al. Patient safety in inpatient mental health settings: a systematic review. Vol. 9, BMJ Open. BMJ Publishing Group; 2019.
Becker K, Schaumburg F, Kearns A, Larsen AR, Lindsay JA, Skov RL, et al. Implications of identifying the recently defined members of the Staphylococcus aureus complex S. argenteus and S. schweitzeri: a position paper of members of the ESCMID Study Group for Staphylococci and Staphylococcal Diseases (ESGS). Vol. 25, Clinical Microbiology and Infection. Elsevier B.V.; 2019. p. 1064–70.
Thatrimontrichai A, Weber DJ, Apisarnthanarak A. Mental health among healthcare personnel during COVID-19 in Asia: A systematic review. Vol. 120, Journal of the Formosan Medical Association. Elsevier B.V.; 2021. p. 1296–304.
Velly L, Gayat E, Quintard H, Weiss E, De Jong A, Cuvillon P, et al. Guidelines: Anaesthesia in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Anaesthesia Critical Care and Pain Medicine. 2020 Jun 1;39(3):395–415.
Peters A, Palomo R, Pittet D. The great nursing brain drain and its effects on patient safety. Vol. 9, Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. BioMed Central Ltd.; 2020.
de Kraker MEA, Tartari E, Tomczyk S, Twyman A, Francioli LC, Cassini A, et al. Implementation of hand hygiene in health-care facilities: results from the WHO Hand Hygiene Self-Assessment Framework global survey 2019. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2022 Jun 1;22(6):835–44.
Blain H, Rolland Y, Tuaillon E, Giacosa N, Albrand M, Jaussent A, et al. Efficacy of a Test-Retest Strategy in Residents and Health Care Personnel of a Nursing Home Facing a COVID-19 Outbreak. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. 2020 Jul 1;21(7):933–6.
Donthu N, Kumar S, Mukherjee D, Pandey N, Lim WM. How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research. 2021 Sep 1;133:285–96.
Oyewole AO, Barrass L, Robertson EG, Woltmann J, O’Keefe H, Sarpal H, et al. COVID-19 Impact on Diagnostic Innovations: Emerging Trends and Implications. Diagnostics. 2021 Feb;11(2):182.
Hammerschmidt J, Heier L, Ernstmann N. Enablement of nursing home residents in infection prevention during general practitioner visits: A qualitative study. PLoS One. 2022;17(4):e0266502.
Pittet D, Allegranzi B, Boyce J, World Health Organization World Alliance for Patient Safety First Global Patient Safety Challenge Core Group of Experts. The World Health Organization Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care and their consensus recommendations. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2009 Jul;30(7):611–22.
Nnaji CA, Wiysonge CS, Lesosky M, Mahomed H, Ndwandwe D. COVID-19 and the Gaping Wounds of South Africa’s Suboptimal Immunisation Coverage: An Implementation Research Imperative for Assessing and Addressing Missed Opportunities for Vaccination. Vaccines. 2021 Jul;9(7):691.
Pittet D, Allegranzi B, Sax H, Dharan S, Pessoa-Silva CL, Donaldson L, et al. Evidence-based model for hand transmission during patient care and the role of improved practices. Lancet Infect Dis. 2006 Oct;6(10):641–52.
Razzaque MS. Healthcare-associated infections in the context of the pandemic. Front Health Serv. 2023;3:1288033.
McEwen SA, Collignon PJ. Antimicrobial Resistance: a One Health Perspective. Microbiol Spectr. 2018 Mar;6(2).
Worldwide Antimicrobial Resistance National/International Network Group (WARNING) Collaborators. Ten golden rules for optimal antibiotic use in hospital settings: the WARNING call to action. World J Emerg Surg. 2023 Oct 16;18(1):50.
Storr J, Twyman A, Zingg W, Damani N, Kilpatrick C, Reilly J, et al. Core components for effective infection prevention and control programmes: new WHO evidence-based recommendations. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2017;6:6.
Sweileh WM. Bibliometric analysis of peer-reviewed literature on antimicrobial stewardship from 1990 to 2019. Globalization and Health. 2021 Jan 4;17(1):1.
Fitria N, Yulianita H, Sugiharto F, Astari DW, Eriyani T. The Factors Associated With Performance Among Infection Prevention and Control Linked Nurse During Covid-19 Pandemic. SAGE Open Nurs. 2023;9:23779608231193911.
Abdul-Mumin KH, Chung YF, Awang-Mohamad-Zaini ZH. Navigating the new normal: infection prevention and control strategies post-COVID-19. Jurnal Ners. 2023 Sep 30;18(3):210–1.
Alkurdi K, Mansouri R, Ismail A, Seoudi N. Critical Evaluation of Global Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines for Dentistry Published during the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Dent. 2024;2024:6611105.
Kuntari NAN, Ulfa M, Jamal A. The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Hospital Waste Management: A Bibliometric Analysis. NaN. 2024;(2):110–9.
Yang K, Qi H. The Public Health Governance of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Bibliometric Analysis. Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Feb 4;10(2):299.
Copyright (c) 2025 Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia (MPPKI)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia retain the copyright of their work. The journal applies a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which grants the following rights:
-
Copyright Retention: Authors retain the copyright of their work, maintaining full control over their intellectual property without restrictions.
-
Right of First Publication: Authors grant the journal the right of first publication of their work. This ensures that the work is initially published and credited in Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia.
-
License to Share and Reuse: The work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, allowing others to copy, distribute, remix, and build upon the work for any purpose, even commercially, as long as proper credit is given to the authors, and any new creations are licensed under the same terms.
