Health Promotion and Community Health
Faculty of Health Sciences
American University of Beirut
Van Dyck Building
PO Box 11-0236
Beirut, Lebanon
Office: Room 323, Van Dyck
Tel: 961 1 350000 ext. 4645; Fax: 961-1-744470
Email: ra15@aub.edu.lb
Academic Degrees
PhD. (1997) St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Research Interests
Youth health, tobacco prevention and control, community based
participatory research, evaluation.
Research Projects
Controlling use of narghile smoking: Testing the impact of a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) of a School-based prevention program
Informing tobacco control policy in Lebanon: Evaluation of the impact of pictorial warning on cigarette packs on initiation of smoking and quitting intentions –
Risky Behaviours and Protective Factors among the Youth in Lebanon: Creating a framework for evidence-based interventions in the prevention of substance use and misuse.
Impact of a community based RCT to improve mental heath of Palestinian refugee youth
Courses Taught
HBED 335: Design and Evaluation of Health Programs
PBHL 398: Culminating Experience Seminar
HBED 340: Seminar in Health Behavior and Education
HBED 341: Exploring the context of interventions
HBED 339B: Tutorial: ethics in public health
Selected Publications
In press Makhoul J, Nakkash RT, El Hajj T, Abdulrahim S, Kanj M, Mahfoud Z, & Afifi RA (corresponding author). "Development and validation of the Arab Youth Mental Health Scale." Community Mental Health Journal
In press Afifi RA, Nakkash R, El Hajj T, Mahfoud Z, Hammad S, Makhoul J, Abdulrahim S, Kanj M, Haddad P.
"Qaderoon youth mental health promotion programme in the Burj El Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp Beirut,Lebanon: a community-intervention analysis (abstract)."
The Lancet
Accepted Afifi RA, Makhoul J, El Hajj T, Nakkash RT. "Developing a logic model for youth mental health: Participatory research with a refugee community in Beirut."
Submitted to Health Policy and Planning
In press Abdulrahim S, El Shareef M, Alameddine M, Hammad S, Afifi RA. "The potential and challenges of an academic-community partnership in a low-trust urban context."
Journal of Urban Health 2010 Mahfoud Z, Afifi RA, Ramia S, El Khoury D, Kassak K, El Barbir F, Ghanem M, El-Nakib M, DeJong J. (2010). "HIV/AIDS among Female Sex Workers, Injecting Drug Users and Men who have Sex with Men in Lebanon: Results of the first Bio-Behavioral Surveys."
AIDS. 24(Suppl 2):S45-54
2010 Nakkash R, Khalil J, Chaaya M, Afifi RA. "Building research evidence for policy advocacy: A qualitative evaluation of existing smoke free policies in Lebanon." Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health, 22(3 Suppl):168S-174S.
2010 Afifi RA, Nakkash RT, Khawaja M. "Social capital, women’s autonomy and smoking among married women in low-income urban neighborhoods of Beirut, Lebanon."
Women’s Health Issues, 20(2): 156-167.
2009 Afifi RA, Yeretzian JS, Rouhana A, Nehlawi MT, Mack A. "Neighborhood influences on narghile smoking among youth in Beirut." European Journal of Public Health. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckp173.
2009 Khalil J, Heath RL, Nakkash R., Afifi RA (corresponding author)."The tobacco health nexus? Health messages in narghile advertisement." Tobacco Control (Ad Watch), 18: 420-421. doi 10.1136/tc.2009.030148.
2009 Yeretzian JS, Afifi RA (corresponding author). "‘It won’t happen to me’: the knowledge attitude nexus in adolescent smoking." Journal of Public Health; doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdp03.1
2009 Nakkash R, Makhoul J, Afifi RA. "Obtaining informed consent: observations from community research with refugee and impoverished youth",
Journal of Medical Ethics, 35: 638-643; doi: 10.1136/jme.2008.028936.
2009 DeJong J, Mahfoud Z, Khoury D, Barbir F, Afifi RA (corresponding author). "Ethical considerations in HIV/AIDS studies using Respondent Driven Sampling: examples from Lebanon." American Journal of Public Health, 99(9):1562-7.
2008 Saade G., Abou Jaoude S., Afifi Soweid R., (corresponding author), Warren C.W., Jones N.R. "Patterns of tobacco use: results from GYTS in Lebanon." The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, Volume 14 No. 6 November-December, 2008.
2007 Khawaja M., Abdulrahim S, Afifi Soweid, R.A., & Karam D. "Distrust, social fragmentation and adolescents' health in the outer city: Beirut and beyond." Social Science and Medicine,
63(5):1304-1315.
2006 Batal M., Abdallah A, Boulghourjian C., & Afifi Soweid, R.A. "Breastfeeding and feeding practices of infants
in a developing country: A national survey in Lebanon". Public Health Nutrition, 9(3): 313-319.
2005 Maziak W., Ward K.D., Afifi Soweid R.A., & Eissenberg T. "Standardizing questionnaire items for the assessment
of waterpipe use in epidemiological studies." Public Health, 119(5): 400-404.
2004 Maziak W., Ward K.D., Afifi Soweid R.A., & Eissenberg T. (2004). "Tobacco smoking using a waterpipe: a re-emerging
strain in a global epidemic." Tobacco Control, 13: 327-333.
2004 Afifi Soweid R.A., Khawaja M., Tautal Salem M., & Sibai A. "Religious identity and smoking behavior among adolescents: Evidence from entering students at the American
University of Beirut." Health Communication, 16(1):47-62.
2004 Khawaja M., & Afifi Soweid R.A. Images of body weight among young men and women: Evidence from Beirut, Lebanon. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 58: 352-353.
2003 Nakkash R., Afifi Soweid R.A., Nehlawi M.T., Shediac-Rizkallah M.C., Hajjar T.A, & Khogali M. The development of a feasible
community-specific cardiovascular disease prevention program: Triangulation of methods and sources. Health Education and Behavior, 30(6): 723-739.
2003 Afifi Soweid R.A., El Kak F., Major S. C., Karam D.K., & Rouhana A. "Changes in health-related knowledge, attitude and self-reported behavior of undergraduate students
at the American University of Beirut following a health awareness course." Education for Health, 16(3): 265-278.
2002 Afifi Soweid, RA , Najem, M , & Shediac-Rizkallah, M. "Preoccupation with weight and disordered eating behaviors
of entering students at a university in Lebanon." International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2002, 32(1): 52-57
2000-2001 Shediac-Rizkallah MC, Afifi Soweid RA, Farhat TM, Yeretzian J, Nuwayhid I, Sibai AM, Kanj M, El-Kak F, Kassak
KM and Kanaan N. "Adolescent health-related behaviors in postwar Lebanon: Findings among students at the American University
of Beirut." International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 20(2): 115-131.
2001 El-Kak, F. Soweid, R.A., Taljeh, C., Kanj, M., & Shediac-Rizkallah, M. "High School Students in Postwar
Lebanon: Attitudes, Information Sources and Perceived Needs related to Sexual and Reproductive Health." Journal of Adolescent Health, 29(3): 153-155.
Professional Affiliations
American Public Health Association (APHA)
Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE)
American Evaluation Society
International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE)
Association of Health Promotion Professionals in Lebanon (AHPPL)
- President
Master
of Public Health
