Trends in Publication Scholarship in Healthcare Infection: A 12-year Analysis

Abstract

Background: Healthcare Infection, the official publication of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention Control, is an international, peer-reviewed journal. This paper presents an analysis of the publication scholarship trends of articles published within Healthcare Infection, providing insight into future publication trends. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to explore published articles over a 12-year period, between 2002 and 2015. A content analysis was performed to examine the key thematic characteristics of all published articles. Citation data from articles published between 2011and 2015 were extracted from Scopus. Results: A total of 345 articles were published in Healthcare Infection during this time. The topics and content of the publications varied considerably. Approximately half the published articles were original research of which the majority were low level evidence. Other articles comprised discussion papers, review articles and editorials. Conclusion: In recent years, there has been an increase in international collaborations and diversification of topics published, including urinary tract infection, sharps injuries, health economics, and antibiotic resistance and stewardship.