title: Subject, function, and trend in medical ethics research: a comparative study of Chinese and non-Chinese literature using bibliometrics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To perform a comparative quantitative and qualitative analysis of Chinese and non-Chinese medical ethics literature using systematic research and literature analysis in order to discern research trends in the area and provide baseline data as a reference for relevant decision making and further study.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrieved articles using MeSH terms and keywords related to medical ethics in PubMed and CNKI, and then constructed a set of charts by applying word co-occurrence, The Pathfinder Networks algorithms, an included subject chart, a research field relationship chart, and strategy coordination charts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total of number of papers retrieved from PubMed was six times that retrieved from CNKI. Outside China, medical ethics has been studied in eight fully shaped subject fields, including morals, ethical review, physician-patient relationships, clinical trials, euthanasia, ethics education, clinical ethics, and health policy. In contrast, medical ethics research in China is still confined to five subject fields: morals, physician-patient relations, medical ethics education, ethical review, and medical research.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical ethics research outside China emphasizes the application of medical ethics to solve emerging problems in clinical and medical research. It is mainly centered on morals, ethical review, and physician-patient relations. By comparison, medical ethics research in China places greater emphasis on morals and medical education. In order to narrow this gap between China and other countries, we should broaden the research scope of medical ethics and add more applied research, such as ethical review and medical education.
authors.affiliation: Chinese Evidence-Based Medicine Center, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Lanhui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Jiantong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Youping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shaolin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Taixiang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Baoqing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zhiyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Chaoyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D015706:Bibliometrics; D002681:China; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends