Pedophilia and nursing: a bibliometric analysis of research trends, ethical considerations, and clinical implications

This study systematically examines nursing literature published between 1986 and 2023 on pedophilia and related ethical issues, focusing on how nurses encounter, manage, and address pedophilia and child sexual abuse in clinical practice. Using bibliometric analysis, it aims to map research trends, identify key themes, and highlight gaps to inform ethical nursing practices and policies in pediatric care. The research was conducted using the Web of Science database. The keywords used in the database search included “Pedophilia” OR “Child Sexual Abuse” OR “Children Sexual Abuse” OR “Childhood sexual abuse” AND “Nursing” OR “Nursing Care” OR “Ethics in Nursing” OR “Nursing Ethics” OR “Nursing Education”. Research activities were conducted between 1986 and 2023, in the country analysis, the United States was found to be the country with the highest number of publications (31) and the most citations (3615). In the keyword analysis, the most frequently used terms were “childhood sexual abuse,” “sexual abuse,” and “child sexual abuse. The frequent use of keywords like “childhood sexual abuse” highlights the importance of this topic within the field. The findings suggest a need for further research on ethical considerations and care strategies in addressing child sexual abuse in nursing.