Post-Graduate Program in Epidemiology, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil.
University of California San Diego, School of Medicine and Institute for Public Health, United States.
Prev Med. 2018 Jun;111:466-472. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2017.10.020.
Little has been published about the historical development of scientific evidence in the physical activity (PA) and public health research field. The study aimed to examine the evolution of knowledge in this field. A structured literature review using formal citation network analysis methods was conducted in June-2016. Using a list of influential PA publications identified by domain experts, a snowball sampling technique was used to build a compact citation network of 141 publications that represents the backbone of the field. Articles were coded by study type and research team characteristics, then analyzed by visualizing the citation network and identifying research clusters to trace the evolution of the field. The field started in the 1950s, with a health sciences focus and strong North American and European leadership. Health outcome studies appeared most frequently in the network and policy and interventions least. Critical articles on objective measurement and public policy have influenced the progress from an emphasis on health outcomes research at early stages in the field to the more recent emerging built environment and global monitoring foci. There is only modest cross-citation across types of study. To our knowledge, this paper is the first to systematically describe the development of research on PA and public health. The key publications include fundamental ideas that remain citable over time, but notable research and dissemination gaps exist and should be addressed. Increasing collaboration and communication between study areas, encouraging female researchers, and increasing studies on interventions, evaluation of interventions and policy are recommended.
关于体力活动（PA）和公共卫生研究领域科学证据的历史发展，相关文献甚少。本研究旨在考察该领域知识的演变。2016 年 6 月，采用结构化文献综述，利用正式引文网络分析方法进行研究。利用领域专家确定的有影响力的 PA 出版物清单，采用滚雪球抽样技术构建了一个由 141 篇出版物组成的紧凑引文网络，代表了该领域的骨干。对文章进行了研究类型和研究团队特征的编码，然后通过可视化引文网络和识别研究集群来分析，以追踪该领域的演变。该领域始于 20 世纪 50 年代，以健康科学为重点，北美和欧洲的领导地位较强。健康结果研究在网络中出现的频率最高，而政策和干预措施出现的频率最低。关于客观测量和公共政策的重要文章影响了该领域从早期注重健康结果研究到最近新兴的建筑环境和全球监测重点的发展。不同类型的研究之间只有适度的交叉引用。据我们所知，本文是第一篇系统描述 PA 和公共卫生研究发展的论文。其中的关键出版物包括随着时间推移仍然具有可引用性的基本思想，但仍存在显著的研究和传播差距，应予以解决。建议增加研究领域之间的合作和交流，鼓励女性研究人员，并增加干预措施、干预措施评估和政策方面的研究。
