Mapping and trend analysis of public health studies: a bibliometric analysis of the demographic and health survey in Peru

Purpose – Accumulating evidence indicates that public health issues significantly affect the quality of human life. This study aims to identify the evolution, trends and bibliometric characteristics of studies conducted using the large public health survey Demographic and Health Survey (DHS)-programme applied in Peru during the period 2015–2023. Design/methodology/approach – Public health studies published between 2015 and 2023 were obtained from the Scopus database. Analyses of publications, citations, journals, co-authorships, country affiliations, keyword co-occurrence and other indicators were conducted using programs such as Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer 1.6.20 and Bibliometrix for bibliometric and visualization analyses. Findings – A total of 233 public health studies using the DHS-Program survey in Peru were retrieved. This analysis showed that research within the studied theme of DHS-Peru for public health has been increasing over the years (R² = 0.8573), with 96.14% of the studies being scientific articles. The international countries contributing the most alongside Peru were the USA (9.45%) and Brazil (4.48%). In addition, the studies were predominantly published in quartile 1 or 2 journals, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the scientific production. It was observed that topics such as intimate partner violence and anaemia may be critical points and frontiers for future research. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this research is that the search was limited to only one database. It is therefore possible that more information could be found in other databases. However, due to the focus of this research and the availability of the use of this database, as well as its scope, the authors consider that it has been sufficient for the objectives of this research. Originality/value – In the interdisciplinary field, the exposure of public health in Peru through the DHS database is clearly growing in both research and citability, indicating increasing attention in the present day. The current report provides an updated and detailed summary of public health trends. These results can be useful for the scientific community in public health for data mapping and decision-making in the health of the Peruvian population.