Jehier Afifi, MB BCh, MSc

Background

Dr. Jehier Afifi is a Neonatologist in the Division of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine at the IWK Health Centre and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Dalhousie University.  She is the Chair of Neonatal Quality, Safety & Outcome Surveillance at IWK and a member of QIPS Committee at Faculty of Medicine Dalhousie University. She is the Pediatric Madeleine Scholar for 2017-2020 and she became a member of the IWK’s Safety Event Advisory Council (SEAC) and the Centre Wide Quality and Patient Safety Committee at IWK Health. Nationally, she is the Site Investigator for the Canadian Neonatal Network (CNN), the Canadian Neonatal Follow-up Network (CNFUN), and the Canadian Preterm Birth Network (CPTBN). She is also the Vice Chair of Evidence-based Practice to Improve Quality (EPIQ) Program and Assistant Director of CNFUN. She is a member of multidisciplinary international groups interested in Neonatal brain development; she is a Board member of the Executive Committee for POCUSNEO Group, a member of the QI/Research Committee of Newborn Brain Society and a member of  Pan-Canadian Brain Network.

Dr. Afifi obtained MSc in Community Health and Epidemiology from Dalhousie University, her thesis titled “Machine Learning for Prediction of Cerebral Palsy in Very Preterm Infants”. She is Alumni of Harvard Medical School certified in Safety, Quality, Informatics & Leadership. Dr. Afifi’s research interests include newborn health and development, family integrated care and improving quality of care.  Her research focuses on quality improvement, neuroimaging, point of care ultrasound, risk prediction and the neurodevelopmental outcomes of high-risk infants. Her clinical research is interdisciplinary, collaborating with epidemiology, perinatology, neuroradiology, neurosurgery and pediatric development services and geared both to contribute to the academic literature and to improve outcomes of newborn infants.

Education

• MB BCh (Ain Shams University, Egypt)
• MSc Pediatrics (Ain Shams University, Egypt)
• Fellow, Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program (University of Manitoba, Canada)
• MSc, Community Health & Epidemiology (Dalhousie University, Canada)
• Certified in Safety Quality Informatics and leadership (SQIL) (Post Graduate Education, Harvard Medical School)

Employment

• Associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University
• Neonatologist, Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, IWK Health Centre
• Neonatologist, Nova Scotia Provincial Perinatal Follow-up Program, IWK Health Centre

Selected publications

1. Afifi J, Shah PS, Ye XY, Shah V, Piedboeuf B, Barrington K, Kelly E, El-Naggar W; Canadian Neonatal Network Investigators. Epidemiology of post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation in very preterm infants. J Perinatol. 2022 Oct;42(10):1392-1399.
2. Hanes L, Afifi J, Lynk A, Manos S. Implementation of a resident-led patient safety curriculum . Can. Med. Ed. J [Internet]. 2022 Sep. 12 [cited 2022 Nov. 22];. Available from: https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/7487
3. Kharrat A, McNamara PJ, Weisz DE, Kelly E, Masse E, Mukerji A, Louis D, Afifi J, Ye XY, Shah PS, Jain A; Canadian Neonatal Network. Clinical burden associated with therapies for cardio-pulmonary critical decompensation in preterm neonates across Canadian neonatal intensive care units. Eur J Pediatr. 2022 Sep;181(9):3319-3330.
4. Guillot M, Synnes A, Pronovost E, Qureshi M, Daboval T, Caouette G, Olivier F, Bartholomew J, Mohamed I, Massé E, Afifi J, Hendson L, Lemyre B, Luu TM, Strueby L, Cieslak Z, Yusuf K, Pelligra G, Ducruet T, Ndiaye ABKT, Angoa G, Sériès T, Piedboeuf B, Nuyt AM, Fraser W, Mâsse B, Lacaze-Masmonteil T, Lavoie PM, Marc I. Maternal High-Dose DHA Supplementation and Neurodevelopment at 18-22 Months of Preterm Children. Pediatrics. 2022 Jul 1;150(1):e2021055819.
5. Beltempo M, Wintermark P, Mohammad K, Jabbour E, Afifi J, Shivananda S, Louis D, Redpath S, Lee KS, Fajardo C, Shah PS; Canadian Neonatal Network Investigators. Variations in practices and outcomes of neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy treated with therapeutic hypothermia across tertiary NICUs in Canada. J Perinatol. 2022 Jul;42(7):898-906.
6. The Impact of Restrictive Family Presence Policies in Response to COVID-19 on Family Integrated Care in the NICU: A Qualitative Study. HERD. McCulloch H, Campbell-Yeo M, Richardson B, Dol J, Hundert A, Dorling J, Whitehead L, MacRae G, Bishop T, Afifi J, Earle R, Rose AE, Foye S, Inglis D, Kim T, Leighton C, Melanson A, Simpson DC, Smit M. 2022 Apr;15(2):49-62. doi: 10.1177/19375867211065178. Epub 2021 Dec 21.
7. Effect of Maternal Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation on Very Preterm Infant Growth: Secondary Outcome of a Randomized Clinical Trial. Neonatology Angoa G, Pronovost E, Ndiaye ABKT, Lavoie PM, Lemyre B, Mohamed I, Simonyan D, Qureshi M, Afifi J, Yusuf K, Sériès T, Guillot M, Piedboeuf B, Fraser WD, Nuyt AM, Mâsse B, Lacaze-Masmonteil T, Marc I.. 2022 Apr 12:1-9. doi: 10.1159/000524147. Epub ahead of print.
8. Use of SMOF lipid emulsion in very preterm infants does not affect the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia-free survival. Ndiaye ABKT, Mohamed I, Pronovost E, Angoa G, Piedboeuf B, Lemyre B, Afifi J, Qureshi M, Sériès T, Guillot M, Simonyan D, Yusuf K, Lavoie PM, Fraser WD, Mâsse B, Nuyt AM, Lacaze-Masmonteil T, Marc I. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2022 Apr 11. doi: 10.1002/jpen.2380. Epub ahead of print.
9. Delayed cord clamping in small for gestational age preterm infants. Brown BE, Shah PS, Afifi JK, Sherlock RL, Adie MA, Monterrosa LA, Crane JM, Ye XY, El-Naggar WI; Canadian Neonatal Network; Canadian Preterm Birth Network Investigators. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022 Feb;226(2):247.e1-247.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2021.08.003. Epub 2021 Aug 9.
10. Parent-reported health status of preterm survivors in a Canadian cohort. Ghotra S, Feeny D, Barr R, Yang J, Saigal S, Vincer M, Afifi J, Shah PS, Lee SK, Synnes AR; Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network Investigators; Canadian Neonatal Network Site Investigators. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2022 Jan;107(1):87-93. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2021-321635. Epub 2021 Jun 23.
11. Variability in the diagnostic and management practices of post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation in very preterm infants across Canadian centers and comparison with European practices. Afifi J, Leijser LM, de Vries LS, Shah PS, Mitra S, Brouwer MJ, Walling S, McNeely PD. J Neonatal Perinatal Med. 2022 Nov 30. doi: 10.3233/NPM-221071. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36463462.
12. Grading of Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Neurodevelopment in Preterm <29 Weeks' GA in Canada. Shah V, Musrap N, Maharaj K, Afifi J, El-Naggar W, Kelly E, Mukerji A, Shah P, Vincer M; Canadian Neonatal Network and Canadian Neonatal Follow-Up Network Investigators. Children (Basel). 2022 Dec 12;9(12):1948. doi: 10.3390/children9121948. PMID: 36553391.

Selected awards and honours

• Pediatric Madeleine Scholar (2017-2020), Department of Pediatrics Endowment Fund, Dalhousie University, Canada
• IWK STARS Award for Quality Improvement (2019), Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Canada

Service & activity

IWK Health, Division of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine:

• Chair, Safety Quality & Outcome Surveillance
• Chair Neonatal Quality Improvement Leadership Team
• Site Investigator of CNN, EPIQ, CNFUN and CPTBN
• Member, Neonatal Care Committee
• Co-Lead of Neurodevelopmental Committee & NICU Task Force
• Member, Atlantic Provinces Association of Neonatologists (APAN)

IWK Health, Department of Pediatrics:

• Madeline Scholar for Safety & Quality (2018 - 2021)
• Member SAEC & Centre Wide Patient Safety Committee
• Member of the Division Head Council, Department of Pediatrics, IWK Health

Dalhousie University

• Chair of Quality Improvement Patient Safety (QIPS) Advisory Committee, PGME Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University
• Lead of EPIQ Workshop, PGME Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University

National and International

• Vice Chair, EPIQ Education Program, Canadian Neonatal Foundation
• Assistant Director of Canadian Neonatal Follow Up Network (CNFUN)
• Lead of QI at QI & Research Committee, Newborn Brain Society
• Member of Pan-Canadian Brain Network
• Chair of Neonatal Neurocritical Care E-Conference, POCUS-NEO
• Executive Committee, POCUS-NEO
• Member, CNFUN Annual Report Working Group
• Member, CNFUN Steering Committee