Objectives
Explore how the content of the articles published by the Pan American Journal of Public Health during its 100 years of existence has aligned with the key health issues of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
Methods
A bibliometric analysis was carried out, with visualization of its results. Information on articles published in the Journal was retrieved from PAHO's Institutional Repository for Information Sharing (IRIS) for the first 75 years and Scopus for the last 25 years, until February 2022; References to Governing Bodies documents and statements by the directors were used to establish PAHO's key themes
Results
Initially, 12 573 publications were obtained and 9 289 were considered for analysis for the period 1922 to 1996, and 3 208 for the period 1997 to 2022. For the bibliometric analysis of the Scopus information, indicators such as the authors and their origin, language of publication, and number and origin of citations were considered. For the visualizations, publications were divided into five periods so that they coincided with the periods established for the analysis of PAHO's priority themes. Keyword co-occurrence maps were made to observe the evolution of published topics and relate them to public health approaches in each period.
Conclusion
The topics published in the Pan American Journal of Public Health and its precursor bulletins reflect the history of regional public health and its evolution over time, as well as the key health issues of the Pan American Health Organization.