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Shifts in the Use of Population Health, Health Promotion, and Public Health

A Bibliometric Analysis

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Canadian Journal of Public Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objective

Bibliometric analysis can be used to objectively compare the usage of terms over time. The purpose of this research was to compare the use of population health, health promotion, and public health using bibliometric indicators of the published literature.

Methods

Bibliometric indicators, such as scientific productivity and the overlap between the terms, were analyzed in the Web of Science. Indexing of population health, health promotion, and public health was explored in MEDLINE, CINAHL, and EMBASE.

Results

The most productive country in population health was Canada, while the most productive country in health promotion and public health was the United States. The number of published articles using the public health term was surpassed by health promotion around 1990. Both were surpassed by population health around 2000. Population health was the only concept which lacked an index term in all three databases.

Discussion

There has been a shift in the usage of public health, health promotion, and population health concepts over time. Country analysis revealed that Canadian researchers are leaders in population health, while researchers based in the United States are leaders in public health and health promotion. This may indicate differences rooted in the social, historical and economic traditions. Although the publication rate of articles described as ‘population health’ research is increasing, it is lacking an index term across major electronic databases. We suggest that without timely acceptance of terms, new concepts that represent different ways of thinking about health may be limited, delayed or glossed over.

Résumé

Objectif

Les analyses bibliométriques sont utilisées pour comparer objectivement l’évolution de concepts au fil du temps. Nous avons voulu comparer l’utilisation des termes «santé des populations», «promotion de la santé» et «santé publique» dans la documentation en recourant à des indicateurs bibliométriques.

Méthode

Des indicateurs bibliométriques (la productivité scientifique, le chevauchement des termes) ont été analysés dans Web of Science. Le classement des termes «santé des populations», «promotion de la santé» et «santé publique» a été examiné dans les bases de données MEDLINE, CINAHL et EMBASE.

Résultats

Le Canada est le pays le plus productif dans le domaine de la santé des populations, tandis que les États-Unis le sont pour la promotion de la santé et la santé publique. Le nombre d’articles référant à la santé publique a été surpassé par la documentation sur la promotion de la santé au tournant des années 1990. Les deux concepts ont été distancés par la santé des populations au tournant des années 2000. La santé des populations est le seul concept qui ne soit pas indexé dans les trois bases.

Discussion

Il y a eu un changement dans l’usage des concepts de santé publique, de promotion de la santé et de santé des populations au fil du temps. L’analyse par pays montre que les chercheurs canadiens sont les chefs de file en santé des populations, tandis que les chercheurs des États-Unis dominent les champs de la santé publique et de la promotion de la santé. Ceci pourrait s’expliquer par des différences de traditions sociales, historiques et économiques. Le taux de publication des articles de recherche sur la «santé des populations» s’accroît, mais ce terme n’est pas indexé dans toutes les grandes bases de données. Selon nous, si l’on n’accepte pas rapidement les nouveaux termes, on risque de faire abstraction de nouvelles notions qui correspondent à différentes façons de réfléchir à la santé, ou encore de limiter ou de retarder l’adoption de ces notions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Population Health, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, ON, K1H 8L1, Canada

    Andrea C. Tricco MSc, Vivien Runnels MSc & Louise Bouchard PhD

  2. Chalmers Research Group, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada

    Margaret Sampson MLIS

  3. Department of Information Studies, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK

    Margaret Sampson MLIS

  4. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Ottawa, Canada

    Louise Bouchard PhD

Authors
  1. Andrea C. Tricco MSc
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  2. Vivien Runnels MSc
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  3. Margaret Sampson MLIS
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  4. Louise Bouchard PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea C. Tricco MSc.

Additional information

Acknowledgement of support: This research was supported, in part, by the University of Ottawa. Ms. Tricco is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship and a University of Ottawa Excellence Scholarship. Ms. Runnels is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Award and a University of Ottawa Excellence Scholarship.

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Tricco, A.C., Runnels, V., Sampson, M. et al. Shifts in the Use of Population Health, Health Promotion, and Public Health. Can J Public Health 99, 466–471 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403777

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03403777

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