Afshin Vafaei, PhD

Afshin Vafaei

Assistant Professor

Contact Information

avafaei2@uwo.ca

Education

  • MSc, PhD in Epidemiology (Queen’s University, Canada)
 

Research In Profile

With expertise in quantitative social epidemiology Dr. Afshin Vafaei uses an intersectional approach to study the influence of social factors, especially gender and social relations, on the health status of and accesses to healthcare issues in older adults with chronic conditions. Following most recent epidemiological methods used in gerontology, he utilizes analytic techniques such as multi-level analysis, latent factor analysis, and decision tree approaches and aims to devise evidence-based policies for the final goal of healthy aging. 

Featured Publications and Projects

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals
  • Rodrigues R, Simmons C, Zólyomi E, Vafaei A, Rehnberg J, Phillips S. Depends on whom you ask: discrepancies in reporting spousal care between women and men across European welfare states. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2024; 105518.
  • Gomez F, Martinez JD, Curcio C, Fernandes J, Vafaei A. Cardiovascular Risk Burden and Disability: Findings from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS). Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, 2024; 21(3): 331−339.
  • Vafaei A, Stewart J, Phillips S. Descriptive regression tree analysis of intersecting predictors of adult self-rated health: does gender matter? A cross-sectional study of Canadian adults PLoS ONE, 2023; Nov 14;18(11):e0293976.
  • Vafaei A, Gomes C, Auais M, Wu YY, Yilli A, Gomez F. Predicting frailty in Primary Care Patients by regression tree analysis: The International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS). Gerontology, 2023; 69(2):130-139
  • Vafaei A, Rodrigues R, Ilinca S, Fors S, Kadi S, Zolyomi E, Phillips S. Inequities in home care access among older Canadian adults: Are they corrected by universal Medicare? PLoS ONE, 2023; Feb 2;18(2):e0280961
  • Phillips S, O’Connor M, Vafaei A. Women suffer but men die: survey data assessing whether this self-reported health paradox is real or an artefact of gender stereotypes. BMC Public Health, 2023 Jan 12;23(1):94
  • McIsaac M, King N, Steeves V, Phillips S, Vafaei A, Michaelson V, Davison C, Pickett W. Mechanisms accounting for gendered differences in mental health status among young Canadians: a novel quantitative analysis. Preventive Medicine, 2023 Apr;169:107451.
  • Vafaei A, Yu J, Phillips S. The intersectional impact of sex and social factors on subjective health: analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). BMC Geriatrics, 2021; 21(1):473.
  • Rocha T, Vafaei A, de Souza Macêdo PR, Guedes D, da Câmara SM. The role of multiparity and maternal age at first pregnancy in the association between early menarche and metabolic syndrome among middle-aged and older women. Menopause, 2021;28 (9):1004-1011.
  • Phillips S, Vafaei A, Yu S, Rodrigues R, Ilinca S, Zolyomi E, Fors S. Systematic review of methods used to study the intersecting impact of sex and social locations on health outcomes. Social Science & Medicine-Population Health, 2020 Dec 1;12:100705.
  • Garrod MJ, Vafaei A, Martin L. Difficulty in access to health care and health status of Canadians. Health Services Insights, 2020 Dec 7;13:1178632920977904
  • Vafaei A, Aubin MJ, Buhrmann R, Kergoat MJ, Aljied R, Freeman EE. Interaction between visual acuity and peripheral vascular disease with balance. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2018;66(10):1934-1939.

Visit for a comprehensive list of publications.

Graduate student opportunities

Most of my research projects are focused on quantitative exploration of chronic diseases in old age following social epidemiological theories. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to contact me at avafaei2@uwo.ca