Global research trends in maternal and pediatric vaccine confidence: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine global research trends related to maternal and pediatric vaccine confidence through bibliometric analysis; to reveal the distribution of publications in this field according to years, countries, journals, and author collaborations; and to provide recommendations for future research and policy development processes based on the findings obtained. After entering the relevant keywords into the Web of Science database, all articles published between 2017 and 2025 were screened, as 2017 represented the year with the highest publication intensity despite the first publication appearing in 2011. Initially, a total of 1,055 articles were identified. Only original research articles (n = 802), publications written in English (n = 784), and studies published after 2017 were included in the analysis. The data were exported, duplicate screening was performed using Mendeley, and analyses and visualizations were conducted using Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, and Bibliometrix (R Studio) software. Following duplicate screening, one duplicate record was removed, resulting in a final dataset of 783 articles. In the bibliometric analysis covering 783 articles published between 2017 and 2025, the United States was identified as the most productive country with 281 articles (35.8%). The most productive publishers were MDPI (n = 186), Elsevier (n = 169), Springer Nature (n = 105), Wiley (n = 52), and Frontiers Media SA (n = 42), respectively. The most productive author was Gaw, with 9 publications. The most cited study was the article entitled “Preliminary Findings of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons,” which received 428 citations. In addition, a marked increase in global research trends related to maternal and pediatric vaccine confidence has been observed over the last five years. Global research trends concerning maternal and pediatric vaccine confidence have been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. The growing number of studies in this area indicates that the topic has attracted greater international attention and that its field of application has expanded. In countries such as Türkiye, where the populations of women and children are high, encouraging and supporting research in this field is of great importance.