ArticleJMIR serious games2021
Virtual Reality in Health Care: Bibliometric Analysis.
Article in JMIR serious games, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Virtual Reality Interventions for Stress Reduction in the General Population: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- The use of the extended reality technologies in simulation-based health professions education: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Virtual reality in neurorehabilitation for musculoskeletal disorders: a bibliometric analysis from 2010 to 2025.Frontiers in neurology · 2026Pooled it
- Virtual Reality Intervention for Patients With Neck Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Trial
- The effect of exercises done with virtual reality glasses on pain, daily life activities, and quality of life of individuals with lumbar disc hernia: a randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Trial
- Effects of virtual reality and nature sounds on pain and anxiety during hysterosalpingography: a randomized controlled trial.Revista da Associacao Medica Brasileira (1992) · 2024Trial
- Global Trends in Virtual Reality Research on Motor Rehabilitation from 2005 to 2025: A Bibliometric Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Global scientific production on gamification in medical education: A bibliometric exploration.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Article
- Advancing Digital Access to Physical Therapy via Virtual and Extended Reality Technology: Prototype Development and Usability Evaluation.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Modeling the evolution of virtual reality in nursing education: a BERTopic-based analysis of research trends and future directions.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Mapping Hot Spots and Global Research Trends in Exergaming Between 1997 and 2024: Bibliometric Analysis.Interactive journal of medical research · 2025Article
- The Added Value of Parents Practicing in Virtual Reality to Illustrate the Use of Innovative Methods in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Single-Case Experimental Design.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- The Influence of Previous Experience on Virtual Reality Adoption in Medical Rehabilitation and Overcoming Knowledge Gaps Among Health Care Professionals: Qualitative Interview Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Telemedicine Applications for Cancer Rehabilitation: Scoping Review.JMIR cancer · 2024Article
- Immersive Technologies for Depression Care: Scoping Review.JMIR mental health · 2024Article
- Effects of Virtual Reality Therapy Combined With Conventional Rehabilitation on Pain, Kinematic Function, and Disability in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR serious games · 2024Article
- Artificial Intelligence in Kidney Disease: A Comprehensive Study and Directions for Future Research.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Effective health management strategies for patients undergoing valve replacement: a bibliometric analysis of the current research status and future directions.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2024Article
- The use of home-based digital technology to support post-stroke upper limb rehabilitation: A scoping review.Clinical rehabilitation · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundResearch into the application of virtual reality technology in the health care sector has rapidly increased, resulting in a large body of research that is difficult to keep up with.
objectiveWe will provide an overview of the annual publication numbers in this field and the most productive and influential countries, journals, and authors, as well as the most used, most co-occurring, and most recent keywords.
methodsBased on a data set of 356 publications and 20,363 citations derived from Web of Science, we conducted a bibliometric analysis using BibExcel, HistCite, and VOSviewer.
resultsThe strongest growth in publications occurred in 2020, accounting for 29.49% of all publications so far. The most productive countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain; the most influential countries are the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The most productive journals are the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), JMIR Serious Games, and the Games for Health Journal; the most influential journals are Patient Education and Counselling, Medical Education, and Quality of Life Research. The most productive authors are Riva, del Piccolo, and Schwebel; the most influential authors are Finset, del Piccolo, and Eide. The most frequently occurring keywords other than "virtual" and "reality" are "training," "trial," and "patients." The most relevant research themes are communication, education, and novel treatments; the most recent research trends are fitness and exergames.
conclusionsThe analysis shows that the field has left its infant state and its specialization is advancing, with a clear focus on patient usability.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.