A Visualisation Analysis Using the VOSviewer of Literature on Virtual Reality Technology Application in Healthcare

Abstract

Current virtual reality technology applications in healthcare perform potential abilities in clinical and nursing practices. This review aims to analyse the use and the development direction of virtual reality technology in the whole healthcare field. Researchers searched (n = 5,209) English-language literature related to the application of virtual reality in healthcare on the basis of the Web of Science online database and used VOSviewer 1.6.17 to visualise and analyse the time trend co-authorship, co-occurrence keywords, and country distribution of the literature. Furthermore, they found that the application of virtual reality technology in healthcare shows an overall fragmentation and a relatively concentrated trend, focusing on medical education, rehabilitation therapy, and psychological interventions. Augmented reality and COVID-19 are present research hotspots.