Bibliometric Analysis of Publications on Peer Support in Mental Health Nursing

Peer support has emerged as a crucial component in mental health nursing, reflecting a paradigm shift toward inclusive, collaborative, and recovery-oriented care. Despite its growing importance, the global scholarly landscape on peer support within mental health nursing remains fragmented. This study employed a bibliometric analysis using the Web of Science Core Collection to map the evolution, productivity, and collaborative patterns of research on this topic between 1992 and 2025. A total of 292 eligible publications were analyzed with VOSviewer and Microsoft Excel to identify trends, prolific authors, journals, and geographic distribution. The findings revealed three distinct phases of development: an initial stagnant phase (1992–2009), a gradual growth phase (2010–2019), and a rapid expansion phase (2020–2025). The United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom emerged as leading contributors, whereas significant research gaps persist in South America and Africa. Co-citation and keyword analyses highlighted the centrality of themes such as recovery, empowerment, resilience, and integration of peer workers into mental health systems. This study underscores the growing recognition of peer support as a nursing intervention and calls for stronger global collaboration, particularly in underrepresented regions, to advance equitable mental health care.