E-Health Research in Southeast Asia: A Bibliometric Review
Issued Date
2023-02-01
Resource Type
eISSN
20711050
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85147967546
Journal Title
Sustainability (Switzerland)
Volume
15
Issue
3
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol.15 No.3 (2023)
Suggested Citation
Lwin H.N.N., Punnakitikashem P., Thananusak T. E-Health Research in Southeast Asia: A Bibliometric Review. Sustainability (Switzerland) Vol.15 No.3 (2023). doi:10.3390/su15032559 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/81781
Title
E-Health Research in Southeast Asia: A Bibliometric Review
Author(s)
Author's Affiliation
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
eHealth or digital health innovations expanded tremendously during the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovation and digitalization offer creative solutions to build up a healthy society. The eHealth technologies are quickly taken up by Southeast Asia countries and continue to flourish to alleviate the burden of healthcare challenges. This study is the first review exploring and analyzing the whole literature of eHealth, specifically in the Southeast Asia region. The objective of this study is to document the size, growth trajectory, and geographical distribution of eHealth in Southeast Asia research, identify high-impact authors and documents, explore the intellectual knowledge structure, and analyze the topical trends of the field. The bibliometric analysis was used to analyze a data set of 1405 Scopus-indexed documents between 1976 and 2021. Descriptive analysis, citation, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence analyses were conducted to gain insights into eHealth in the Southeast Asia knowledge base. The growth rate of literature has rocketed up since 2018, reflecting the significant increase in demand for eHealth in Southeast Asia. Among the eleven Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand were the top four countries where the most eHealth-related research was conducted. The intellectual structure of eHealth in Southeast Asia literature comprises four schools of thought (i.e., four groups of similar theoretical perspectives and research interests): (1) analysis and adoption of hospital information system/eHealth records, (2) user intention and acceptance of information technology, (3) technology for healthcare and disease management, and (4) mobile health technology (m-Health). Mobile applications, social networks, the COVID-19 pandemic, patient referral, follow-up, self-care, quality of life, psychology, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension are the recent emerging research themes in the field of study. The eHealth development should consider long-term sustainable management along with the rapid evolution of the field. Additionally, eHealth systems should be holistic and pay attention to technology adoption, data security, and ethical issues involved in medical practices. This bibliometric review delivers reference points for scholars interested in Southeast Asia eHealth, reveals the emerging intellectual structure of this interdisciplinary field, and provides guidance to future research on this domain.