# Analysis of Research Hotspots and Trends in Confined-Space Work Safety Based on CiteSpace
## 5 Conclusions  
In this study, CiteSpace visualization software was used to systematically review the research on confined-space work safety both domestically and internationally. By creating a knowledge map of Chinese and English-language journals, this study highlights the research progress and hotspots among scholars in this field, aiming to provide a reference for further in-depth research. The findings indicate the following:  
1. Currently, research on confined-space work safety is gradually gaining attention from scholars worldwide, but the overall volume of research remains small. This field had a late start, and the number of countries involved in the research is limited. While the occupational health of confined-space workers has drawn significant attention from the medical field abroad, related medical research in China is still relatively scarce. 2. The research on accidents and suffocation in confined spaces in the Chinese literature has lasted for a long time. The confined spaces studied have mainly been distributed in the industrial and trade industry, and the confined-space work safety in chemical enterprises may be a research hotspot and trend in the future. The research on accident mechanisms in the English-language literature has lasted the longest, and the research contents in recent years have been diversified. Gas explosions, occupational health, and safety management may be the hot research directions for the future. 3. There is less cooperation between domestic organizations and authors, most of which are confined to the same organization or region, and there are also fewer exchanges and cooperation between countries. The interdisciplinary nature of the field needs to be improved, and external cooperation between research organizations is rare, which is not conducive to the exchange and development of disciplines. In addition, few publications have considered the mechanisms of hazardous gas production and the methods to reduce gas production. Only by carrying out relevant research can we provide a basis for controlling risks in design and realize essential safety. 4. In the future, confined-space safety will pay more attention to controlling risks at their origin. The safety of confined spaces will be considered in the design stage. By optimizing structural design and manufacturing techniques, the objectives of reducing confined spaces, reducing working frequency, and controlling the accumulation of hazardous gases will be achieved. At the same time, automation technology will be adopted to realize \"mechanized substitution and automatic reduction of personnel\", which can help control the risks of confined-space work at their origin. Also, new technologies such as AI, 5G networks, cloud computing, and big data analysis will be used to identify potential safety hazards in confined spaces, which can provide early warning of risks. However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of this study. Firstly, since CiteSpace was developed based on the WoS database, the relevant articles from other databases were not included in this study. Secondly, confined spaces include many types, such as various wells, tanks, pools, and towers. This study focused only on articles with \"confined space\" in the title. Articles with specific names of confined spaces (such as various wells, tanks, pools, and towers) in the title but not including the words \"confined space\" were not retrieved, and it was also impossible to cover all of them. Despite these limitations, our study still provides valuable references for understanding and promoting the development of confined-space safety, and it offers new directions for future research. Investigation, C.Y. ; Data curation, C.Y. and Y.L. ([PERSON]); Writing--original draft, C.Y., Y.L. ([PERSON]), Y.D. and S.H. ; Writing--review & editing, C.Y., Y.L. ([PERSON]), Y.D., Y.L. ([PERSON]) and Y.Q. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.