A Systematic Review of Research on Public Health Emergencies Between China and the International Community: Trends and Challenges

This study compared and analyzed the journal, the author, the institution, the research hotspots, and the evolutionary trends of hotspots in the field of public health emergencies. The data were obtained from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and the Web of Science Core Collection. A total of 2163 Chinese journal articles and 8525 international journal articles on public health emergencies were retrieved. Between 2003 and 2019, the number of publications in China fluctuated with an increasing trend followed by a decreasing trend, while the number of international publications showed a slow upward trend. In 2020, the number of publications increased significantly in both China and internationally due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Chinese scholars have formed collaborative research groups, and the cooperation between the research groups in China is closer than that of the international research groups. However, there appears to be a limited level of collaboration between these groups in both China and internationally. International research institutions had closer connections than domestic research institutions. The cooperation between the research institutions internationally is closer than that of the research institutions in China. International research hotspots included emergency response, public opinion communication, and COVID‐19, while Chinese research hotspots included epidemiological research, emergency management, and epidemic prevention and control. The comparison and analysis revealed that research on public health emergencies in China has undergone four stages since 2003, aligning with international research trends. The Chinese research gaps we have identified include the effective mechanisms for community participation and the long‐term impact of emergency responses on mental health. These research gaps provide valuable directions for future research. Additionally, our research offers a theoretical foundation for cross‐national collaboration, contributing to the establishment of more effective public health emergency response systems on a global scale.