Science Explorer Interactive view Map
Field · Health Sciences

Health Professions research

Health Professions is a field of the Health Sciences. Science Explorer counts 2.5M research works in it since 1950. 17.6% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: field encompassing a wide range of disciplines focused on health care, treatment, and advice, including public health and occupational therapy.

Research works
2.5M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
445k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.6%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
107
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+42%
the tick is no change

This ranks research output and citation impact. It says nothing about the quality of diagnosis, treatment or care.

What is Health Professions research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Public Health, Mental Health, Quality of Life, Primary Care, Health Promotion, Social Determinants of Health. Gaining share since 2009–13: Patient Experience, Physical Activity, Healthcare Access, Work-related Stress, Nutrition. Losing share: Quality Improvement, Public Health Policy, Primary Care, Healthcare Quality.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Public Health126k◆ 0.95×18 topics
  2. Mental Health83k◆ 1.12×10 topics
  3. Quality of Life76k◆ 0.92×13 topics
  4. Primary Care66k▼ 0.76×10 topics
  5. Health Promotion65k◆ 0.92×11 topics
  6. Social Determinants of Health61k◆ 0.90×6 topics
  7. Social Support45k◆ 0.94×6 topics
  8. Healthcare44k◆ 0.91×8 topics
  9. Health Outcomes42k◆ 1.08×4 topics
  10. Elderly34k◆ 0.92×3 topics
  11. Health Policy33k◆ 1.02×4 topics
  12. Workplace Safety32k▲ 1.61×3 topics
  13. Chronic Diseases31k◆ 0.91×3 topics
  14. Physical Activity30k▲ 2.2×2 topics
  15. Chronic Disease Management29k◆ 0.99×5 topics
  16. Epidemiology29k▲ 1.31×5 topics
  17. Healthcare Access29k▲ 1.96×2 topics
  18. Health28k▲ 1.33×4 topics
  19. Social Determinants28k◆ 1.05×3 topics
  20. Patient Satisfaction28k▲ 1.42×4 topics
  21. Patient Experience26k▲ 2.4×3 topics
  22. Healthcare Quality26k▼ 0.77×4 topics
  23. Patient Engagement26k▲ 1.37×3 topics
  24. Risk Factors25k◆ 0.92×3 topics
  25. Digital Health25k▲ 1.27×2 topics
  26. Quality Improvement24k▼ 0.67×4 topics
  27. Public Health Policy23k▼ 0.73×2 topics
  28. Patient Care23k◆ 1.07×4 topics
  29. Chronic Disease23k◆ 1.10×2 topics
  30. Well-being22k▲ 1.39×3 topics
  31. Safety Climate21k◆ 0.91×2 topics
  32. Behavior Change21k▲ 1.45×2 topics
  33. Healthcare Legislation21k▼ 0.81×1 topic
  34. Patient Rights21k▼ 0.81×1 topic
  35. Organizational Culture20k▼ 0.84×2 topics
  36. Work-related Stress20k▲ 1.83×3 topics
  37. Healthcare Workers20k◆ 1.11×3 topics
  38. Machine Learning20k▲ 1.40×2 topics
  39. Aging Population19k▼ 0.85×4 topics
  40. Nutrition19k▲ 1.65×2 topics

Which countries lead Health Professions research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, China and India rank highest in Health Professions. By volume, the United States and Indonesia publish the most (105k and 68k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 17.7% top 10% · 105k works
  2. 2 China · #3 all time 26.7% top 10% · 25k works
  3. 3 India · #8 all time 11.6% top 10% · 29k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom · #2 all time 20.5% top 10% · 30k works
  5. 5 Italy · #6 all time 23.5% top 10% · 8.1k works
  6. 6 Australia · #5 all time 26.3% top 10% · 16k works
  7. 7 Canada · #4 all time 21.3% top 10% · 17k works
  8. 8 Germany · #7 all time 16.3% top 10% · 18k works
  9. 9 Saudi Arabia · #19 all time 22.6% top 10% · 4.2k works
  10. 10 Spain · #13 all time 16.8% top 10% · 11k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 108 countries ranked in Health Professions. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Health Professions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 105k works
  2. 2 Indonesia 68k works
  3. 3 Brazil 38k works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 30k works
  5. 5 India 29k works
  6. 6 China 25k works
  7. 7 France 19k works
  8. 8 Germany 18k works
  9. 9 Canada 17k works
  10. 10 Australia 16k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 28.7%Indonesia: 18.7%Brazil: 10.4%United Kingdom: 8.2%6 others listed: 34.0%29%largest
United States105k · 28.7%Indonesia68k · 18.7%Brazil38k · 10.4%United Kingdom30k · 8.2%6 others listed124k · 34.0%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Health Professions research?

Harvard University (United States) ranks first in Health Professions on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by King's College London and Vellore Institute of Technology University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harvard University United States · Cambridge · #1 all time 32.4% top 10% · 1.1k works
  2. 2 King's College London United Kingdom · London · #19 all time 27.1% top 10% · 738 works
  3. 3 Vellore Institute of Technology University India · Vellore 23.4% top 10% · 333 works
  4. 4 Sichuan University China · Chengdu 29.3% top 10% · 389 works
  5. 5 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #14 all time 30.4% top 10% · 637 works
  6. 6 Saveetha University India · Chennai 14.0% top 10% · 593 works
  7. 7 The University of Sydney Australia · Sydney · #18 all time 30.2% top 10% · 893 works
  8. 8 King Saud University Saudi Arabia · Riyadh · #88 all time 28.9% top 10% · 392 works
  9. 9 University College London United Kingdom · London · #5 all time 28.3% top 10% · 1k works
  10. 10 University of Michigan United States · Ann Arbor · #2 all time 23.7% top 10% · 1.1k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 1,928 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Health Professions.

Top 100 Health Professions institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States 2k works
  2. 2 University of Indonesia Indonesia 1.6k works
  3. 3 Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation United States 1.5k works
  4. 4 Weatherford College United States 1.5k works
  5. 5 BMJ Group (United Kingdom) ?? 1.4k works
  6. 6 Universidade de São Paulo Brazil 1.4k works
  7. 7 Politeknik Kesehatan Kemenkes Semarang Indonesia 1.3k works
  8. 8 Airlangga University Indonesia 1.3k works
  9. 9 University of Toronto Canada 1.2k works
  10. 10 Harvard University United States 1.1k works

Who are the leading researchers in Health Professions?

Among the most productive authors in Health Professions, David Moher, John P. A. Ioannidis and Gordon Guyatt rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 David Moher Canada · #1 worldwide 38k citations · 235 works
  2. 2 John P. A. Ioannidis United States · #10 worldwide 8k citations · 222 works
  3. 3 Gordon Guyatt Canada · #11 worldwide 6.8k citations · 254 works
  4. 4 Ronald C. Kessler United States · #14 worldwide 9.8k citations · 232 works
  5. 5 Aziz Sheikh United Kingdom · #17 worldwide 5.8k citations · 274 works
  6. 6 Vivekanand Jha India · #18 worldwide 5.8k citations · 232 works
  7. 7 Christopher J L Murray United States · #23 worldwide 13k citations · 158 works
  8. 8 James Thomas United Kingdom · #27 worldwide 13k citations · 154 works
  9. 9 Zulfiqar A Bhutta Pakistan · #29 worldwide 7k citations · 258 works
  10. 10 Azeem Majeed United Kingdom · #51 worldwide 6k citations · 151 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,244 highest-output authors in Health Professions. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Health Professions researchers

Where is Health Professions research done?

The largest centres of Health Professions research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Jakarta (Indonesia), São Paulo (Brazil) and Paris (France). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Sebastopol, Camerton and London.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 London United Kingdom 8.5k works
  2. 2 Jakarta Indonesia 8k works
  3. 3 São Paulo Brazil 6.2k works
  4. 4 Paris France 5.5k works
  5. 5 New York United States 4.6k works
  6. 6 Semarang Indonesia 4.5k works
  7. 7 Surabaya Indonesia 4.5k works
  8. 8 Beijing China 4.1k works
  9. 9 Bandung Indonesia 4.1k works
  10. 10 Sydney Australia 3.8k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. SebastopolUS · 1,528.8 works25×
  2. CamertonGB · 47.7 works21×
  3. London1,453.4 works16×
  4. Sale335.9 works16×
  5. Medan47.6 works13×
  6. Bexhill-on-SeaGB · 34.2 works11×
  7. WilsonUS · 35.3 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Health Professions than the world average.

See Health Professions on the map

Health Professions research by country

The best places for Health Professions research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Health Professions?

Among universities, judged by research, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Harvard University and University College London score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 26.59%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine: 328, 35.8%Harvard University: 1,114, 32.4%University College London: 1,016, 28.3%Politeknik Kesehatan Kemenkes Semarang: 1,329, 1.5%The University of Sydney: 893, 30.2%Macquarie University: 310, 35.2%Monash University: 781, 30.1%Hong Kong Polytechnic University: 354, 40.8%Iranshahr University: 235, 22.4%University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: 1,982, 9.2%London School of Hyg…Harvard UniversityUniversity College L…Politeknik Kesehatan…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine United Kingdom 53.535.8%4.0×328 +31.9%
2Harvard University United States 51.532.4%1.7×1,114 +33.4%
3University College London United Kingdom 49.128.3%1.4×1,016 +52.8%
4Politeknik Kesehatan Kemenkes Semarang Indonesia 48.51.5%6.2×1,329 +1257.1%
5The University of Sydney Australia 47.730.2%1.7×893 +33.3%
6Macquarie University Australia 47.235.2%1.6×310 +115.3%
7Monash University Australia 46.930.1%1.8×781 +25.2%
8Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong 46.840.8%0.8×354 +8.9%
9Iranshahr University Iran 46.722.4%5.3×235 +236.9%
10University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill United States 45.89.2%2.2×1,982 +163.5%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Health Professions research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 42% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Sports and Physical Education Research, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Mobile Health and mHealth Applications.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Sports and Physical Education Research+822%
  2. Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare+546%
  3. Mobile Health and mHealth Applications+434%
  4. Health and Lifestyle Studies+222%
  5. Health, Nursing, Elderly Care+200%
  6. Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations+168%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Health Professions include?

Health, Medicine and Soc…79kHealth, Medicine and Society: 79k fractional worksOccupational Health and …57kOccupational Health and Safety Research: 57k fractional worksEmployment and Welfare Studies: 56k fractional worksAging, Elder Care, and Social Issues: 55k fractional worksPrimary Care and Health Outcomes: 55k fractional worksChild and Adolescent Hea…47kChild and Adolescent Health: 47k fractional worksEthics in medical practice: 46k fractional worksNoise Effects and Management: 46k fractional worksHomelessness and Social …46kHomelessness and Social Issues: 46k fractional worksAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health: 44k fractional worksDisaster Response and Management: 43k fractional worksGlobal Health Care Issues43kGlobal Health Care Issues: 43k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.