Researcher

Associate Professor Roberto Forero

My Expertise

Adolescent mental health epidemiology; substance abuse use; health services; emergency medicine; epidemiology.

Biography

A/Prof Roberto Forero is a well-known health services researcher with an international reputation for his work investigating the epidemiology of mental health problems amongst adolescents and the impact of substance use, deleterious lifestyle and bullying. A/Prof Forero is also well known for his work in health services research exploring factors associated with mortality and poor health outcomes in Australian Emergency Departments (EDs)....view more

A/Prof Roberto Forero is a well-known health services researcher with an international reputation for his work investigating the epidemiology of mental health problems amongst adolescents and the impact of substance use, deleterious lifestyle and bullying. A/Prof Forero is also well known for his work in health services research exploring factors associated with mortality and poor health outcomes in Australian Emergency Departments (EDs). A/Prof Forero is currently working as a Senior Research Fellow with the University of NSW Simpson Centre for Health Services Research and he has a total 159 publications, including 53 in peer review journals (53% as first, second or senior author), 4 book chapters, 20 technical reports and 65 presentations in both international and national conferences and has 1234 citations with an H-index of 17. A/Prof Forero is the recipient of career research funding of $3.2 million dollars and is an associate investigator of a program grant of $10.8 million. Previous appointments included coordinating research and evaluation activities with the NSW Health Department and Area Health Services. A/Prof Forero has been appointed SWS Clinical School Post-Graduate Coordinator and member of the Faculty of Medicine High Degree Committee since January 2017. He is currently member of the NHMRC Panel for Partnership Grants and recently appointed panel member for the new NHMRC Ideas Grant. He is an appointed Member of the NHMRC Research Translation Faculty since 2011. He has assessed research submissions for NH&MRC Grants, Drug and Alcohol Grants and Victorian and Singapore Government Grant Schemes for Health Services Research (2011-current). A/Prof Forero is also a Member for the Research and Literature Reviews Panel to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality of Care.


My Grants

  • Forero, R, Hillman K, et al., NHMRC Partnership Grant APP1029492 (2013-2017). “Validation and impact of the four hour rule in the emergency department: a large data linkage study”.(2014-2018) $687,000 plus $436,364 cash contributions.

  • Braithwaite, J, Westbrooke, Coiera E, Hillman, K, ....Forero R (AI), et al. National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Program Grant APP1054146 (2014-2018). “Creating safe, effective systems of care: the translational challenge.” $10,855,710


My Qualifications

Roberto Forero, PhD (UNSW), MPH (Syd), MA (Syd), BA (Col), MPHAA

Associate professor of Health Services Research

Postgraduate Coordinator, School of Clinical Medicine, SWS Campuses, UNSW

Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research.


My Awards

 

  • Forero R. Publication Award. Simpson Centre for Health Services Research. Australian Institute for Health Innovation, University of New South Wales, 2011.
  • Donaldson A, Forero R, Caroline Finch. Silver Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Applied Research in Sports Medicine by a Research Team. Sports Safety Awards: NSW Sporting Injuries Committee, 2003.

 


My Research Activities

A/Prof Roberto Forero is an experienced researcher with a specific interest in the design and analysis of epidemiological studies and clinical strategies aimed at improving health services; health services research and health outcomes. A/Prof Forero is also interested in health services research in the Emergency Department and the measurement of chronic disease prevalence by using self-reported data; the investigation of factors associated with deleterious lifestyle, drug use and mental health problems; evaluation of health promotion strategies and programs. A/Prof Forero is also interested in measurement issues, validity, reliability and development of instruments in health services research and health promotion. A/Prof Forero has contributed in the development of health promotion strategies in adolescence, in asthma, drug related harm minimisation, suicide prevention, bullying, health related behaviours and lifestyle. A/Prof Forero applied advanced statistical techniques to improve the interpretation and adjustment of clustered data in relation to alcohol and other drugs amongst young people and their relationship to sexual behaviour, mental health, violence, crime and family structure.. A/Prof Forero has been involved in developing dynamic models exploring the school-home-community interaction, including interaction among parents, family members, schools and some factors such as physical and social environments and policies and practices of the school. Since 2002, A/Prof Forero has been working on health services research in Emergency Medicine, Palliative Care and Intensive Care application of new tools and instruments to translate research into clinical and community practical applications.


My Research Supervision


Supervision keywords


Areas of supervision

Emergency department health services research

End-of-life care

Quantitative and Qualitative research

 


My Engagement

Community engagement and participation: A/Prof Forero has made important contributions in his service to the discipline and teaching. In the beginning his research focussed on adolescence, specifically chronic and debilitating conditions such as asthma, mental health problems, substance use, deleterious lifestyle and methodological approaches. In the past 5 years, his research interests have expanded to include health services research in Emergency Departments, ICU and other primary care settings as well as GP settings.

 

National and international standing: A/Prof Forero has been recognised in the field of health services research and emergency medicine. The recently completed study of the impact of National Emergency Access Target in Australia has been recognised as one of the most important studies in this field with several media articles. A/Prof Forero has been appointed SWS Clinical School Post-Graduate Coordinator and member of the Faculty of Medicine High Degree Committee since January 2017. He is currently member of the NHMRC Panel for Partnership Grants and recently appointed panel member for the new NHMRC Ideas Grant. He is Member of the NHMRC Research Translation Faculty since 2011.

View less

Location

Simpson Centre for Health Services Research
Level 3,
Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research Building
Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, NSW
Australia

Contact

02 8738 9369