A bibliometric and scientometric network analysis of occupational safety and health in the electric power industry : future implication of digital pathways

Abstract

(1) Background: The demand for electricity in rural and urban areas has given rise to numerous related industries, resulting in perilous working conditions and a significant number of safety accidents for workers. In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on improving occupational safety and health in the electric power industry. However, the lack of a systematic review or the integration of disaggregated studies has hindered our understanding of the state of the development of this research field. This study aims to provide bibliometric and scientometric network analyses and explore the untapped potential of digital pathways. (2) Methods: A bibliometric analysis focused on the research cooperation, author keywords, and journal co-citation patterns of studies was carried out, while a temporal trend analysis was employed to identify topical focuses and trends for further research on the occupational safety and health of electrical workers. Papers were searched for across three databases, namely Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Using “occupational safety and health” and “electric power industry” as keywords, the articles published from 1991 to 2022 were retrieved. (3) Results: A total of 608 articles published from 1991 to 2022 were collected for the bibliometric analysis. Four clusters were successfully recognized in the search results after adopting the process of cluster analysis based on a total of 608 articles. As for the countries, most of the publications and citations came from the United States. The most frequent keywords were safety, exposure assessment, electrocution, and electrical injury. (4) Conclusions: This is the first study to highlight occupational safety and health in the electric power industry and provides valuable insights into the knowledge structure, emerging trends, and future directions through the lens of digital pathways. This study sheds light on the importance of digital pathways in enhancing occupational safety and health practices within the industry. The findings contribute to the fields of occupational safety management and health promotion, providing a foundation for future research and interventions aimed at improving safety conditions and promoting the well-being of personnel in the electric power industry.