WeChat in China’s mobile health: a bibliometric analysis of trends, hotspots, and academic contributions

Abstract Objectives To use bibliometric methods to deeply analyze the application of WeChat in China’s mHealth field, outline its research panorama, and clarify research frontiers. Materials and Methods Literature from January 2011 to December 2024 was sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection, and PubMed databases. The work has been registered in PROSPERO (ID: CRD420251060517). Bibliometrix, Biblioshiny, VOSviewer, GraphPad Prism, and Adobe Photoshop were used for bibliometric analysis and visualization of the included literature. Results A total of 1633 publications were initially retrieved, and 379 eligible documents were finally included after rigorous screening based on inclusion and exclusion criteria (1254 excluded). The annual publication output showed a sharp growth from 2016 to 2021 and entered a stable phase thereafter, while the citation count has maintained a steady upward trend since 2020. China was identified as the core contributing country in this research field. Among institutional contributors, Fujian Medical University ranked first in publication output, and Sun Yat-sen University exhibited outstanding citation impact. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified two distinct research clusters, with one focusing on clinical practice and disease-oriented research, and the other centering on research scientificity and population health research. Discussion It reveals a growing and interdisciplinary research area, and the trends in publication outputs, citations, and research hotspots can serve as a guide for future research. Conclusion This research thoroughly outlined the current state of WeChat in China’s mHealth, addressed research gaps, and suggested future research directions to encourage innovative applications.