Objective Research in speech-language pathology (SPL) in Iran has experienced remarkable growth since the establishment of the discipline in 1973. However, no comprehensive and systematic evaluation of the scientific productions of SPL faculty members in Iran and their international impact has been conducted so far. The present study aims to fill this gap by examining the indexed articles of Iranian faculty members in pediatric SPL, providing the research trends, indexing databases, and thematic areas.
Materials & Methods This is a descriptive-retrospective study. All indexed and peer-reviewed articles in pediatric SPL published by SPL faculty members at Iranian medical universities between 2007 and 2024 were extracted from the Scientometric Portal of the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Following the systematic screening of 398 articles, 380 eligible articles were analyzed based on seven main indicators: annual publication trends, clinical domains and subdomains, research focus, target population, research design, and status of indexing in international databases.
Results The SPL research showed an increasing trend, with the highest rate observed between 2020 and 2022 (23.7% of all articles). Receptive/expressive language was the most popular domain (40.3%), followed by speech sound production (16.3%), semantics (11.6%), phonology (10.8%), and feeding/swallowing disorders (8.4%). Regarding target population, the studies on children with typical development (30.8%) and hearing impairment (21.1%) had the highest rate. The dominant research focus was disorder characteristics (38.7%), while the focus on intervention (17.6%), epidemiology (2.4%), and screening (3%) was limited. Overall, 93.92% of articles were indexed in international databases, with Scopus providing the highest coverage (75.8%).
Conclusion Iranian faculty members in SPL, while addressing local priorities, have maintained international publication standards and achieved significant growth in knowledge development in this field. Pediatric SPL research in Iran has reached a stage of scientific maturity primarily built on studies of language development and hearing disorders. However, significant gaps exist in interventional, epidemiological, screening studies, and investigation of certain clinical populations such as children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, voice disorders, and learning disabilities. This study can be a roadmap for prioritizing future research and formulating scientific policies in the field of pediatric SPL in Iran.