Health Services
Research group
Our research focuses on methods for measuring perceived health, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and the burden of disease. Our main areas of research apply these methods to assessing the burden of common mental disorders and to evaluating the comparative effectiveness of interventions for chronic diseases, in particular cancer and asthma. Our research is carried out in collaboration with several international research networks, including the WHO World Mental Health Surveys initiative, and the Movember Foundation initiative TrueNTH Global Registry – Prostate Cancer Outcomes.
Knowledge transfer is also an important focus for the group, which plays a leading role in BiblioPRO, the online library of PROs in Spanish, containing more than 2000 instruments. We have developed a standard guide to evaluate the quality of these instruments (EMPRO) and a "Procedure and system to evaluate the quality of life related to the health of an individual" (patent n P200600211, May 1999). We also collaborate on a number of international research projects (IQOD, MHADIE, KIDSCREEN, EuroQol, PROMIS and ICHOM).
We are engaged in a number of educational and mentoring activities, including the Master’s programme in Public Health, the degree in Medicine, and other official education programmes from both Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), as well as the PSMAR Teaching Unit of Specialists in Preventive Medicine and Public Health.
Our team comprises some 15 professionals with different backgrounds, such as life sciences, psychology, statistics, and others; it is part of the CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health (Carlos III Health Institute), and is recognized as a Consolidated Research Group by AGAUR (DIUE, Generalitat de Catalunya).
Members
Alfonso Antón López (Researcher)
María Jesús Blasco Cubedo (Researcher)
Montserrat Ferrer Forés (Researcher)
Olatz Garin Boronat (Researcher)
Yolanda Pardo Cladellas (Researcher)
Gemma Vilagut Saiz (Researcher)
Laura Ballester Coma (PhD Student)
Ana de Inés Trujillo (PhD Student)
Karina Mayoral Ortiz (PhD Student)
Itxaso Alayo Bueno (Technician)
Javier Gómez Sánchez (Technician)
Philippe Mortier (Technician)
Àngels Pont Acuña (Technician)
Beatriz Puértolas Gracia (Technician)
Víctor Zamora Ruiz (Technician)
Purificación Barbas López (Research Assistant)
Carme Gasull Planes (Research Assistant)
Luisa Aurea Martín Morris (Research Assistant)
Main Publications
• GBD 2017 SDG Collaborators (...Alonso J...). Measuring progress from 1990 to 2017 and projecting attainment to 2030 of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals for 195 countries and territories: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet 2018; 392(10159): 2091-2138. IF 53.254. D1.
• Kessler RC, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, Bromet EJ, Gureje O, Karam EG, Koenen KC, Lee S, Liu H, Pennell BE, et al. The associations of earlier trauma exposures and history of mental disorders with PTSD after subsequent traumas. Mol Psychiatr 2018; 23(9): 1-8. IF 11.64. D1.
• Ávila M, Patel L, Cortés-Sanabria L, Garin O, Pont A, Ferrer F, Boladeras A, Fosså S, Storås AH, Sanda M, Serra-Sutton V, Ferrer M. Patient-reported outcomes after treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancer Treat Rev 2018; 66: 23-44. IF 8.122. D1.
• Mortier P, Auerbach RP, Alonso J, Bantjes J, Benjet C, Cuijpers P, Ebert DD, Green JG, Hasking P, Nock MK, O'Neill S, Pinder-Amaker S, Sampson NA, Vilagut G, Zaslavsky AM, Bruffaerts R, Kessler RC, WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators (...Castellví P...). Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among First-Year College Students: Results From the WMH-ICS Project. J Am Acad Child Psy 2018; 57(4): 263-273. IF 6.25. D1.
• Alonso J, Liu Z, Evans-Lacko S, Sadikova E, Sampson N, Chatterji S, Abdulmalik J, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Al-Hamzawi A, Andrade LH, et al. Treatment gap for anxiety disorders is global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 countries. Depress Anxiety 2018; 35(3): 195-208. IF 5.043. D1.
• Alonso J, Mortier P, Auerbach RP, Bruffaerts R, Vilagut G, Cuijpers P, Demyttenaere K, Ebert DD, Ennis E, Gutiérrez-García RA, Green JG, Hasking P, Lochner C, Nock MK, Pinder-Amaker S, Sampson NA, Zaslavsky AM, Kessler RC, WHO WMH-ICS Collaborators. Severe role impairment associated with mental disorders: Results of the WHO World Mental Health Surveys International College Student Project. Depress Anxiety 2018; 35(9): 802-814. IF 5.043. D1.
• Alonso J, Saha S, Lim CCW, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Al-Hamzawi A, Benjet C, Bromet EJ, Degenhardt L, de Girolamo G, Esan O, et al. The association between psychotic experiences and health-related quality of life: a cross-national analysis based on World Mental Health Surveys. Schizophr Res 2018; 201: 46-53. IF 3.958. Q1.
• Arias J, Vilagut G, Martín V, Molina AJ, Alonso J. Prevalence of major depressive disorder and association with personal and socio-economic factors. Results for Spain of the European Health Interview Survey 2014-2015. J Affect Disorders 2018; 239: 203-207. IF 3.786. Q1.
• Hernández G, Dima AL, Pont A, Garin O, Martí M, Alonso J, Van Ganse E, Laforest L, de Bruin M, Mayoral K, Ferrer M, ASTRO-LAB group. Impact of asthma on women and men: Comparison with the general population using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. PLoS ONE 2018; 13(8): e0202624. IF 2.766. Q1.
• Martí M, Pérez G, German D, Pont A, Garin O, Alonso J, Gotsens M, Ferrer M. Health-related quality of life inequalities by sexual orientation: Results from the Barcelona Health Interview Survey. PLoS ONE 2018; 13(1): e0191334. IF 2.766. Q1.
Ongoing Research Projects
• Incidencia poblacional de la tentativa y de la repetición de tentativa de suicidio: evaluación del Código riesgo suicidio de Cataluña
- Financing institution: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (PI17/00521)
- Period: from 2018 to 2020
- Principal investigator: Alonso Caballero, Jordi
• TrueNTH Global Registry – Prostate Cancer Outcomes
- Financing institution: Movember Europe
- Period: from 2017 to 2019
- Principal investigator: Ferrer Forés, Montserrat
• Aplicación de los instrumentos PRO en España: revisión sistemática y recomendaciones basadas en la evidencia
- Financing institution: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (PI16/00130)
- Period: from 2017 to 2019
- Principal investigator: Garin Boronat, Olatz
• Evaluación del tratamiento con broncodilatadores de acción larga en los niños con asma: estudio observacional prospective
- Financing institution: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (PI15/00449)
- Period: from 2016 to 2020
- Principal investigator: Ferrer Forés, Montserrat
• Evaluación de la precisión diagnóstica, el coste y la utilidad del rastreo de glaucoma basado en detección guiada por imágenes, análisis automático de imágenes y telemedicina
- Financing institution: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (PI15/00412)
- Period: from 2016 to 2019
- Principal investigator: Antón López, Alfonso
• Trastorno por uso de alcohol y otras sustancias en estudiantes universitarios: factores de riesgo, incidencia, e impacto en la cohorte “UniverSal-Universidad y Salud Mental"
- Financing institution: Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad (2015I015)
- Period: from 2016 to 2019
- Principal investigator: Alonso Caballero, Jordi
• Efectividad a largo plazo: Seguimiento hasta los 10 años de la cohorte del “Estudio multicéntrico español de cáncer de prostata localizado”
- Financing institution: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (PI13/00412)
- Period: from 2014 to 2018
- Principal investigator: Garin Boronat, Olatz
• PROMIS.es Salud Mental: calibración y validación de un instrumento informatizado de evaluación de resultados percibidos por los pacientes para diagnóstico y monitorización en Salud Mental
- Financing institution: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (PI13/00506)
- Period: from 2014 to 2018
- Principal investigator: Vilagut Sanz, Gemma
• UNIVERSAL: UNIVERSIDAD Y SALUD MENTAL. Modelos Predictivos de Ideación y Conducta Suicida en Estudiantes Universitarios Españoles
- Financing institution: Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (PI13/00343)
- Period: from 2014 to 2018
- Principal investigator: Alonso Caballero, Jordi
Participation in Research Networks
• CIBERESP: Epidemiología y salud pública
- Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria. ISCIII (CB06/02/0046)
- Principal investigator: Alonso Caballero, Jordi
Group’s Recognitions
• Officially recognised as a consolidated research group by the Generalitat de Catalunya: Grup de Recerca en Serveis Sanitaris. 2017-2020
- Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (SGR 452)
- Principal investigator: Alonso Caballero, Jordi
Theses
• Hernández, G. Treatment Safety, Adherence and Health-related Quality of Life in patients with asthma. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
- Directors: Ferrer Forés, Montserrat; Garin Boronat, Olatz
- Date of defense: 12/12/2018
Other
• Dr. Jordi Alonso has been included for three consecutive years (2016, 2017 and 2018) among the most highly cited researchers around the World, in recognition of the exceptional research performance demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers, placing him in the top 1% rank by citations per field and year in Psychiatry/Psychology.
• Extraordinary Doctorate Award 2016-2017 to the student Mónica Ávila Pacheco for her thesis with International Doctorate Mention 'Comparative Effectiveness Research on Localized Prostate Cancer Treatments'. This award by the Directive Committee of the Doctoral School of Pompeu Fabra University was approved unanimously on July 27th, 2018.
C/ Doctor Aiguader, 88
08003 Barcelona
(+34) 93 316 04 00
info@imim.es