Two decades of research in occupational physical activity for health: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Background

There is a paradox in the field of physical activity, where leisure-time physical activity and occupational physical activity have inconsistent associations with health outcomes. Therefore, an increasing number of studies have investigated the associations between occupational physical activity and health outcomes. Given the rapid growth of publications in the field, an analytical synthesis of the literature is needed.

Objective

The aim of this bibliometric analysis was to assess scientific productivity and provide a knowledge structure for the field of occupational physical activity and health from 2004 to 2024.

Methods

Eligible publications records indexed on the Web of Science were downloaded for conducting a performance analysis, science mapping and visualisation. The VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Microsoft Excel were used to conduct the bibliometric analysis.

Results

During the past two decades, a total of 1619 publications in the field of occupational physical activity for health were included. Healy G.N. and Dunstan D.W. were the most published authors in this field (41 publications). The USA (415 publications) and the University of Queensland (88 publications) were the most published countries and research institutions. The knowledge structure in this field showed a path of evolution from observational to intervention studies. Human resource management and organisational behaviour would be future research topics.

Conclusions

Results of this bibliometric analysis provide researchers and other stakeholders with a comprehensive knowledge structure in the field of occupational physical activity for health and evidence-based recommendations for future research.