3.1 Volume, types, and languages of the retrieved publications
The research query on young people retrieved 2544 publications. The retrieved documents were mainly research articles (n = 2409; 94.7%), review articles (n = 59; 2.3%), letters (n = 43; 1.7%), and the remaining (n = 33; 1.3%) were notes, editorials, and conference papers. Of the 31 different languages found in the retrieved literature, English (n = 2266; 89.1%) was the main language followed by Spanish (n = 76; 3.0%), Portuguese (n = 55; 2.2%), French (n = 25; 1.0%), and Chinese (n = 24, 0.9%).
3.2 Subject areas of the retrieved publications
The retrieved documents were mainly in the following subject areas: medicine (n = 1879; 73.9%), social sciences (n = 535; 21.0%), psychology (n = 251; 9.9%), nursing (n = 206; 8.1%), biochemistry (n = 133; 5.2%), immunology/microbiology (n = 81; 3.2%), humanities (n = 76; 3.0%), and pharmacology/toxicology (n = 66; 2.6%).
3.3 Annual growth of publications
The annual number of publications showed a characteristic pattern (Fig. 1). The publications started in early 1950s and remained low (less than 10 publications per year) until mid-1980s. The growth of publications showed a steep increase in mid-1980s and a second steep increase after 2005. Publications present in the steep rise in the mid-1980s were mainly about HIV/AIDS while publications present in the second steep rise after 2005 were diverse but mainly about HPV vaccination and HPV cervical cancer.
3.4 Research themes and research trends
Network visualization of the most frequent terms in titles and abstracts (minimum occurrences of 50 times) showed four clusters representing four research themes in the retrieved publications (Fig. 2): the first cluster was about human papilloma virus (HPV), vaccination, and cancer prevention; the second cluster was about HIV/AIDS; third cluster was about contraception, pregnancy, abortion, and services, the fourth cluster was about condom use and sexually transmitted diseases. The Overlay visualization of the same terms in network visualization map showed that the most recent research topic in the retrieved publications was HPV vaccine/vaccination (Fig. 3).
3.5 Citation analysis and top cited publications
The retrieved publications received 32964 citations, an average of 10.9 citations per document and an h-index of 61. The top cited publications during the period from 1951 to 2009 focused on the following topics [22–31]: HPV, HPV vaccination, HIV/AIDS, condom, and unprotected sex (Table 2). The top cited publications during the period from 2010 to 2019 focused on the following topics [12, 32–40]: HPV vaccination, HIV prophylaxis, HIV testing technology, long acting contraceptives, and sexually transmitted diseases (Table 3).
Table 2
Top cited publications during the study period from 1951 to 2009 on SRH knowledge and awareness among young people
Rank* | Title | Number of citations | Year | Journal |
1 | Adolescents and AIDS: A survey of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about AIDS in San Francisco | 282 | 1986 | American Journal of Public Health |
2 | Sexual activity, condom use and AIDS awareness among adolescent males | 240 | 1989 | Family Planning Perspectives |
3 | Attitudes about human papillomavirus vaccine in young women | 229 | 2003 | International Journal of STD and AIDS |
4 | Minorities and AIDS: Knowledge, attitudes, and misconceptions among Black and Latino adolescents | 227 | 1988 | American Journal of Public Health |
5 | Sexually active adolescents and condoms: Changes over one year in knowledge, attitudes and use | 215 | 1988 | American Journal of Public Health |
6 | Knowledge and Early Adoption of the HPV Vaccine Among Girls and Young Women: Results of a National Survey | 199 | 2009 | Journal of Adolescent Health |
7 | Knowledge about human papillomavirus among adolescents | 162 | 2000 | Obstetrics and Gynecology |
8 | University students' knowledge and awareness of HPV | 162 | 1999 | Preventive Medicine |
9 | Perceptions of the benefits and costs associated with condom use and unprotected sex among late adolescent college students | 140 | 2000 | Journal of Adolescence |
9 | College students' knowledge and attitudes about AIDS and changes in HIV-preventive behaviors | 140 | 1990 | AIDS Education and Prevention |
*in ranking, documents with equal citations were given similar ranking and one place in the ranking system was skipped. |
Table 3
Top cited publications during the study period from 2010 to 2019 on SRH knowledge and awareness among young people
Rank | Title | Number of citations | Year | Journal |
1 | Prep awareness and perceived barriers among single young men who have sex with men | 107 | 2013 | Current HIV Research |
2 | Is use of the human papillomavirus vaccine among female college students related to human papillomavirus knowledge and risk perception? | 94 | 2010 | Sexually Transmitted Infections |
3 | Online social networking technologies, HIV knowledge, and sexual risk and testing behaviors among homeless youth | 89 | 2011 | AIDS and Behavior |
4 | Ethnically diverse female university students' knowledge and attitudes toward human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV vaccination and cervical cancer | 76 | 2010 | European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology |
5 | The fertility myth: Israeli students knowledge regarding age-related fertility decline and late pregnancies in an era of assisted reproduction technology | 68 | 2011 | Human Reproduction |
6 | Awareness and knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among school-going adolescents in Europe: A systematic review of published literature | 65 | 2011 | BMC Public Health |
7 | Young women's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to long-acting reversible contraceptives | 62 | 2010 | Women's Health Issues |
8 | Human Papillomavirus awareness, knowledge and vaccine acceptance: A survey among 18-25-year-old male and female vocational school students in Berlin, Germany | 59 | 2012 | European Journal of Public Health |
9 | Human papillomavirus and cervical cancer: Gardasil® vaccination status and knowledge amongst a nationally representative sample of Australian secondary school students | 58 | 2010 | Vaccine |
10 | Femininity ideology and sexual health in young women: A focus on sexual knowledge, embodiment, and agency | 56 | 2011 | International Journal of Sexual Health |
3.6 Geographic distribution of the publications
The retrieved documents originated mainly from the region of the Americas (n = 944) and the European region (n = 613) (Table 4). However, when data were normalized by the number of publications on SRH knowledge and awareness in all age groups for each particular region, the South-Eastern Asian region had the highest research activity (36.1%).
Table 4
Number of publications stratified by WHO region on SRH knowledge and awareness among young people and among all age groups (1900–2019)
Region | Number of publications on knowledge about SHR | %* |
Adolescents# | All age groups |
African region | 382 | 1286 | 29.7 |
The region of the Americas | 944 | 3555 | 26.6 |
South-Eastern Asian region | 249 | 689 | 36.1 |
European region | 613 | 2100 | 29.2 |
Eastern Mediterranean region | 145 | 493 | 29.4 |
Western Pacific region | 284 | 941 | 30.2 |
#the sum is greater than the total number of retrieved publications because of the overlap |
*the % was calculated by dividing the number of publications in adolescents by the number in all age groups |
3.7 Top ten active countries
The top ten active countries were listed in Table 5. The USA ranked first (n = 701; 27.6%) followed by India (n = 183; 7.2%) and the UK (n = 150; 5.9%). The ten active countries included three in the region of Americas, two in African, two in European, two in Western Pacific, and one in South-Eastern Asian region. When data was normalized by GDP per capita, India (91.5 publication per GDP per capita) ranked first followed by Nigeria (53.0) and South Africa (17.9).
Table 5
Top ten active countries on SRH knowledge and awareness among young people normalized by income and population size
Rank | Country | Number of publications | % N = 2544 | Number of publications per GDP/capita |
1 | United States | 701 | 27.6 | 11.2 |
2 | India | 183 | 7.2 | 91.5 |
3 | United Kingdom | 150 | 5.9 | 3.5 |
4 | South Africa | 113 | 4.4 | 17.9 |
5 | Nigeria | 106 | 4.2 | 53.0 |
6 | Turkey | 83 | 3.3 | 8.9 |
7 | Australia | 78 | 3.1 | 1.4 |
8 | China | 72 | 2.8 | 7.3 |
9 | Brazil | 71 | 2.8 | 8.0 |
10 | Canada | 61 | 2.4 | 1.3 |
3.8 Top ten active journals
The top ten active journals were listed in Table 6. Journal of Adolescent Health (n = 39; 1.5%) ranked first followed by BMC Public Health (n = 37; 1.5%) and Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention (n = 32; 1.3%). The list included two journals specialized in adolescent health, three in reproductive health, two in public health, one in cancer prevention, two in AIDS, and one was multidisciplinary. The active journals were mainly based in Europe and USA. However, three of the active journals were based in Nigeria, India, and Thailand. Documents published in the AIDS Education and Prevention journal received the highest number of citations per document (34.1 citations per document) followed by those published in Journal of Adolescent Health (29.3).
Table 6
Top ten active journals in publishing documents on SRH knowledge and awareness among young people
Rank* | Journal | Number of publications | % N = 2544 | Number of citations per document | Country |
1 | Journal of Adolescent Health | 39 | 1.5 | 29.3 | Netherlands |
2 | BMC Public Health | 37 | 1.5 | 17.5 | UK |
3 | Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention | 32 | 1.3 | 12.8 | Thailand |
4 | Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development | 26 | 1.0 | 0.0 | India |
4 | Plos One | 26 | 1.0 | 10.8 | USA |
6 | African Journal of Reproductive Health | 23 | 0.9 | 12.9 | Nigeria |
7 | AIDS Education and Prevention | 22 | 0.9 | 34.1 | USA |
7 | Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology | 22 | 0.9 | 15.8 | Netherlands |
7 | Reproductive Health | 22 | 0.9 | 5.8 | UK |
10 | European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care | 18 | 0.7 | 24.3 | UK |
10 | International Journal of STD and AIDS | 18 | 0.7 | 14.2 | UK |
*in ranking, journals with equal numbers were given similar ranking and one place in the ranking system was skipped. |
3.9 Top ten active institutions
The list of active institutions was listed in Table 7. Of the ten active institutions, nine were academic institution and one was a research institution. Seven of the active institutions were based in the USA, one in Nigeria, one in South Africa, and one in Sweden. The University of California, San Francisco ranked first (n = 33; 1.3%) followed by the University of KwaZulu-Natal (n = 25; 1.0%).
Table 7
Top ten active institutions involved in publishing documents on SRH knowledge and awareness among young people
Rank* | Institution | Number of publications | % N = 2544 | Country |
1 | University of California, San Francisco | 33 | 1.3 | USA |
2 | University of KwaZulu-Natal | 25 | 1.0 | South Africa |
3 | University of Ibadan | 21 | 0.8 | Nigeria |
4 | Columbia University in the City of New York | 19 | 0.7 | USA |
5 | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 17 | 0.7 | USA |
5 | Emory University | 17 | 0.7 | USA |
7 | Uppsala Universitet | 15 | 0.6 | Sweden |
7 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | 15 | 0.6 | USA |
9 | University of Pennsylvania | 14 | 0.6 | USA |
9 | University of Washington, Seattle | 14 | 0.6 | USA |
*in ranking, institutions with equal numbers were given similar ranking and one place in the ranking system was skipped. |