ArticleBMC health services research2026
Understanding research priorities in home health care: a topic modeling analysis of the health services literature.
Article in BMC health services research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHome health care (HHC) has become vital amid global aging, rising chronic disease burdens, and shifts toward community-based care. Yet, research priorities remain fragmented. This study aimed to map the evolution of HHC scholarship and identify emerging and underexplored themes.
methodsWe analyzed 39,548 PubMed-indexed HHC publications (1952-April 2025) using Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling. A hybrid Konstanz Information Miner-Python workflow supported preprocessing, parameter optimization, and topic extraction. Model performance was assessed with perplexity, coherence, and clustering validation.
resultsTen coherent topics were identified, spanning clinical, technological, and population-focused domains. Healthcare resource utilization remained the most consistent and dominant theme. Rapidly expanding areas included telehealth adoption, technology-assisted caregiving, and end-of-life services. Temporal analysis revealed increasing attention to digitally integrated, person-centered models since the 2010s, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatric care and high-risk population screening were notably underrepresented.
conclusionsThis study provides a macro-level mapping of seven decades of HHC research, highlighting evolving priorities and persistent blind spots. Topic modeling offers valuable insights for shaping a more inclusive, evidence-informed research agenda and guiding policy development in home-based care.
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.