Afshin Vafaei
Biographic Data
| ID | 6224444 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Afshin Vafaei |
| GIVEN NAMES | Afshin |
| FAMILY NAME | Vafaei |
| SIGNATURE | VAFAEI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Queen's University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3605-409X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 6 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 19 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Mental health and workplace wellbeing among Frontline healthcare providers who provide HIV care to children, adolescents and their families
Frontline healthcare providers (HCPs) are critical to the paediatric-adolescent HIV response in Africa, yet their mental health and workplace wellbeing remain underexplored. We conducted a mixed-methods study with 617 frontline HCP who provide HIV services to children and adolescents in 12 high-prevalence African countries. Participants completed a cross-sectional survey assessing depression, work-related quality of life, empowerment, job satisfa…
Differences in Informal Care to Parents between Women and Men
Despite shifting attitudes towards men taking up unpaid work, there remains a persistent gender gap in informal caregiving for older adults. We investigate how individual gender role attitudes of women and men influence their provision of care to parents and whether this relationship is moderated by the national context. Using data from the Generations and Gender Survey and logistic regressions with country-fixed effects to a sample of nine Europ…
The continuous learning needs of personal support workers who care for people living with dementia in long-term care
Personal support workers (PSWs) in long-term care (LTC) homes provide the most care to people living with dementia, yet receive the least education compared to other healthcare professionals. Informed by adult learning theory, this study investigated PSW perspectives of their dementia-specific learning needs while working in LTC. Interpretive Description guided the secondary qualitative analysis of focus groups with ‘mid-career’ PSWs (n = 39) in …
The representation of personal support workers in dementia-specific learning need assessments
In formal care organizations, personal support workers (PSWs) provide the most daily direct care to people living with dementia. PSWs receive the least comprehensive education and have the fewest opportunities for continuing education compared to nurses and physicians. PSWs need to be provided with opportunities for continuous education programs tailored to their specific learning needs to improve dementia car Conducted in accordance with the JBI…
Gender-Specific Associations between Late-Life Disability and Socioeconomic Status
Disability is a dynamic process and can be influenced by a sociocultural environment. This study aimed to determine whether the associations between socioeconomic status and late-life disability differ by gender in a multi-sociocultural sample from different countries. A cross-sectional study was developed with 1362 older adults from The International Mobility in Aging Study. Late-life disability was measured through the disability component of t…
Women suffer but men die
Women's and men's common interpretation of measures like SRH suggests that women's health disadvantage is neither artefactual nor determined by gendered meanings of measures and does not explain the paradox. SRH and SRMH captured social circumstances for all. Convergence of characteristics women and men consider as central to health is evidence of the dynamism of gender with evolving social norms. The remaining divergence speaks to persisting tra…
Cohort Trajectories by Age and Gender for Informal Caregiving in Europe Adjusted for Sociodemographic Changes, 2004 and 2015
We discuss the cohort effects found in the context of gender differences in employment and care around retirement age, as well as possible demographic explanations for these. The shift from care outside to inside the household, where it mostly consists of spousal care, may require different policies to support carers, whose age profile and possible care burden seem to be increasing
A novel application of a data mining technique to study intersections in the social determinants of mental health among young Canadians
This analysis represents a novel proof-of-concept to demonstrate the utility of a subgroup identification algorithm to reveal important differences in mental health experiences between adolescent males and females. The algorithm detected new social locations (i.e., where gender intersected with other characteristics) associated with poor mental health outcomes. These findings set the stage for further intersectional research, involving both quant…
Systematic review of methods used to study the intersecting impact of sex and social locations on health outcomes
Few authors used the inherent strength of some study methods to examine intersecting traits. As even fewer began with an intersectionality framework their subsequent failure to deliver cannot be faulted, despite many studies including data and methodologies that would support intersectional analyses. There appeared to be a gap, not in analytic potential but rather in theorizing that differential distributions of social locations describe heteroge…
Life-Space and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults in Different Social and Economic Contexts
Urinary Incontinence Is Associated With Physical Performance Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Women
Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of urinary incontinence (UI) on physical performance. Method: In prospective analyses from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS), 915 women (65-74 years) from Canada, Colombia, Albania, and Brazil were evaluated in relation to self-reported UI (past week) and physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB]), with reevaluation after 2 years. Linear mixe…
Validation of a Social Networks and Support Measurement Tool for Use in International Aging Research
Age at First Birth, Parity and History of Hysterectomy Are Associated to Frailty Status
Health Behaviors and Chronic Conditions Mediate the Protective Effects of Masculinity for Physical Performance in Older Adults
This study provides evidence that gender roles are independently associated with physical performance. Health behaviors and chronic conditions are mediators of the relationship between gender roles and lower extremity physical function
Relationships Between Neighborhood Social Capital and The Occurrence of Outdoor Falls in Canadian Older Adults
Living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social capital was associated with higher risk of falling in older adults, possibly through more involvement in social activities
Neighbourhood social and built environment factors and falls in community-dwelling canadian older adults
Older persons are vulnerable to the ill effects of their social and built environment due to age-related limitations in mobility and bio-psychological vulnerability. Falls are common in older adults and result from complex interactions between individual, social, and contextual determinants. We addressed two methodological issues of neighbourhood-health and social epidemiological studies in this analysis: (1) validity of measures of neighbourhood…
Sarcopenic obesity and physical performance in middle aged women
Sarcopenic obesity was present in 7 % of this population of middle-aged women from Northeast Brazil and it was associated with poor physical performance. Sarcopenic obesity may occur in middle-aged women with performance limitations beyond pure sarcopenia-related muscle mass or obesity alone
Evaluation of the Late-Life Disability Instrument (LLDI) in Low-Income Older Populations
LLDI is a good instrument to assess disability in low-income populations. Further research is needed to include culturally acceptable activities for the frequency sub-scale
P1-364 Is social capital in the workplace associated with work-related injury and disability? A systematic review of the epidemiologic literature
Introduction Social capital is defined as resources embedded in social relationships. Social capital in the workplace may include social support, interpersonal trust, respect, and reciprocity; and may occur at both the worker and workplace level. The objective of this study was to determine if social capital in the workplace is associated with work-related injury or disability. Methods A systematic review of the epidemiologic literature was condu…
Validation of a Social Networks and Support Measurement Tool for Use in International Aging Research
Cohort Trajectories by Age and Gender for Informal Caregiving in Europe Adjusted for Sociodemographic Changes, 2004 and 2015
We discuss the cohort effects found in the context of gender differences in employment and care around retirement age, as well as possible demographic explanations for these. The shift from care outside to inside the household, where it mostly consists of spousal care, may require different policies to support carers, whose age profile and possible care burden seem to be increasing
Relationships Between Neighborhood Social Capital and The Occurrence of Outdoor Falls in Canadian Older Adults
Living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social capital was associated with higher risk of falling in older adults, possibly through more involvement in social activities
P1-364 Is social capital in the workplace associated with work-related injury and disability? A systematic review of the epidemiologic literature
Introduction Social capital is defined as resources embedded in social relationships. Social capital in the workplace may include social support, interpersonal trust, respect, and reciprocity; and may occur at both the worker and workplace level. The objective of this study was to determine if social capital in the workplace is associated with work-related injury or disability. Methods A systematic review of the epidemiologic literature was condu…
Evaluation of the Late-Life Disability Instrument (LLDI) in Low-Income Older Populations
LLDI is a good instrument to assess disability in low-income populations. Further research is needed to include culturally acceptable activities for the frequency sub-scale
Sarcopenic obesity and physical performance in middle aged women
Sarcopenic obesity was present in 7 % of this population of middle-aged women from Northeast Brazil and it was associated with poor physical performance. Sarcopenic obesity may occur in middle-aged women with performance limitations beyond pure sarcopenia-related muscle mass or obesity alone
Neighbourhood social and built environment factors and falls in community-dwelling canadian older adults
Older persons are vulnerable to the ill effects of their social and built environment due to age-related limitations in mobility and bio-psychological vulnerability. Falls are common in older adults and result from complex interactions between individual, social, and contextual determinants. We addressed two methodological issues of neighbourhood-health and social epidemiological studies in this analysis: (1) validity of measures of neighbourhood…
Health Behaviors and Chronic Conditions Mediate the Protective Effects of Masculinity for Physical Performance in Older Adults
This study provides evidence that gender roles are independently associated with physical performance. Health behaviors and chronic conditions are mediators of the relationship between gender roles and lower extremity physical function
Relationships Between Neighborhood Social Capital and The Occurrence of Outdoor Falls in Canadian Older Adults
Living in neighborhoods with higher levels of social capital was associated with higher risk of falling in older adults, possibly through more involvement in social activities
Urinary Incontinence Is Associated With Physical Performance Decline in Community-Dwelling Older Women
Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of urinary incontinence (UI) on physical performance. Method: In prospective analyses from the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS), 915 women (65-74 years) from Canada, Colombia, Albania, and Brazil were evaluated in relation to self-reported UI (past week) and physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB]), with reevaluation after 2 years. Linear mixe…
Validation of a Social Networks and Support Measurement Tool for Use in International Aging Research
Age at First Birth, Parity and History of Hysterectomy Are Associated to Frailty Status
Systematic review of methods used to study the intersecting impact of sex and social locations on health outcomes
Few authors used the inherent strength of some study methods to examine intersecting traits. As even fewer began with an intersectionality framework their subsequent failure to deliver cannot be faulted, despite many studies including data and methodologies that would support intersectional analyses. There appeared to be a gap, not in analytic potential but rather in theorizing that differential distributions of social locations describe heteroge…
Life-Space and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults in Different Social and Economic Contexts
A novel application of a data mining technique to study intersections in the social determinants of mental health among young Canadians
This analysis represents a novel proof-of-concept to demonstrate the utility of a subgroup identification algorithm to reveal important differences in mental health experiences between adolescent males and females. The algorithm detected new social locations (i.e., where gender intersected with other characteristics) associated with poor mental health outcomes. These findings set the stage for further intersectional research, involving both quant…
Gender-Specific Associations between Late-Life Disability and Socioeconomic Status
Disability is a dynamic process and can be influenced by a sociocultural environment. This study aimed to determine whether the associations between socioeconomic status and late-life disability differ by gender in a multi-sociocultural sample from different countries. A cross-sectional study was developed with 1362 older adults from The International Mobility in Aging Study. Late-life disability was measured through the disability component of t…
Women suffer but men die
Women's and men's common interpretation of measures like SRH suggests that women's health disadvantage is neither artefactual nor determined by gendered meanings of measures and does not explain the paradox. SRH and SRMH captured social circumstances for all. Convergence of characteristics women and men consider as central to health is evidence of the dynamism of gender with evolving social norms. The remaining divergence speaks to persisting tra…
Cohort Trajectories by Age and Gender for Informal Caregiving in Europe Adjusted for Sociodemographic Changes, 2004 and 2015
We discuss the cohort effects found in the context of gender differences in employment and care around retirement age, as well as possible demographic explanations for these. The shift from care outside to inside the household, where it mostly consists of spousal care, may require different policies to support carers, whose age profile and possible care burden seem to be increasing
The representation of personal support workers in dementia-specific learning need assessments
In formal care organizations, personal support workers (PSWs) provide the most daily direct care to people living with dementia. PSWs receive the least comprehensive education and have the fewest opportunities for continuing education compared to nurses and physicians. PSWs need to be provided with opportunities for continuous education programs tailored to their specific learning needs to improve dementia car Conducted in accordance with the JBI…
The continuous learning needs of personal support workers who care for people living with dementia in long-term care
Personal support workers (PSWs) in long-term care (LTC) homes provide the most care to people living with dementia, yet receive the least education compared to other healthcare professionals. Informed by adult learning theory, this study investigated PSW perspectives of their dementia-specific learning needs while working in LTC. Interpretive Description guided the secondary qualitative analysis of focus groups with ‘mid-career’ PSWs (n = 39) in …
Mental health and workplace wellbeing among Frontline healthcare providers who provide HIV care to children, adolescents and their families
Frontline healthcare providers (HCPs) are critical to the paediatric-adolescent HIV response in Africa, yet their mental health and workplace wellbeing remain underexplored. We conducted a mixed-methods study with 617 frontline HCP who provide HIV services to children and adolescents in 12 high-prevalence African countries. Participants completed a cross-sectional survey assessing depression, work-related quality of life, empowerment, job satisfa…
Differences in Informal Care to Parents between Women and Men
Despite shifting attitudes towards men taking up unpaid work, there remains a persistent gender gap in informal caregiving for older adults. We investigate how individual gender role attitudes of women and men influence their provision of care to parents and whether this relationship is moderated by the national context. Using data from the Generations and Gender Survey and logistic regressions with country-fixed effects to a sample of nine Europ…
Medicine (17 works) · Psychology (14 works) · Gerontology (13 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (9 works) · Demography (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Demography (5 works) · Psychiatry (5 works) · Environmental health (4 works) · Mental health (4 works)