Rate My Professor David Barson

David Barson serves as Senior Research Fellow, Data Manager, and Programmer in the Department of Public Health (Dunedin School of Medicine), Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. He specializes in utilizing large routinely collected administrative health data for research, with particular expertise in data linkage across multiple sources, web-based data collection using tools like REDCap and LimeSurvey, and information storage and management for large-scale longitudinal projects. Barson's research interests center on injury prevention and pharmacoepidemiology, contributing to units such as the Injury Prevention Research Unit and the Pharmacoepidemiology Research Network. His work supports analyses of health outcomes using nationwide datasets, enhancing public health research through robust data methodologies.

Barson holds a Bachelor of Arts and Postgraduate Diploma in Arts from the University of Otago, focusing on Old English and Medieval Literature, followed by a Diploma in Graduate Studies in Computer Science. Prior to his current role, he worked for several years in the film industry, which informed his transition into data-intensive health research. Key publications include 'What is "big data" and what do biostatisticians and data managers want you to know about it?' (New Zealand Medical Student Journal, 2025, with Gray et al.); 'New Zealand’s Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study—10 years on (POIS-10): Descriptive outcomes to 12 years post-injury' (Injury Prevention, 2024, with Derrett et al.); 'Cohort profile: The Trauma Outcomes Project, a prospective study of New Zealanders experiencing major trauma' (BMJ Open, 2023, with Owen et al.); 'Predictors of hospital readmission after trauma: A retrospective cohort study in New Zealand' (Injury, 2023, with Harcombe et al.); and 'Adherence to metformin monotherapy in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus in New Zealand' (with Horsburgh et al.). Additional contributions cover topics such as patterns of bronchodilator use, antidepressant dispensing during pregnancy, and farm safety interventions. Through these efforts, Barson plays a vital role in advancing epidemiological insights and injury outcome studies in New Zealand.