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Maisam Najafizada

Biography

Dr. Maisam Najafizada is an Afghan-Canadian physician-researcher and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He holds an M.D. from Balkh University (Afghanistan) and an M.A. in Health Communication and a Ph.D. in Population Health from the University of Ottawa. His research centres on building equitable, responsive, and community-engaged health systems, with a focus on primary health care, community health interventions, and health policy in both Canadian and global settings. He has held academic leadership roles including Interim Assistant Dean for Social Accountability, Faculty Lead for Global Health and Health Equity, and MPH Program Coordinator. His work on community health worker programs has informed World Health Organization guidance, and his research program has attracted more than $4.9 million in competitive funding.

Areas of Research Interest

• Primary Health Care
• Complex Adaptive and Learning Health Systems
• Human Resources for Health
• Global Health
• International Comparison of Health (Care) Systems
• Health Policy Analysis

Current Research Projects

Understanding the complexities of implementing team-based primary care

The Family Care Teams (FCT) project develops and evaluates team-based primary care models in Newfoundland and Labrador. Through a CIHR-funded implementation science approach and systems thinking, this research examines how collaborative care—bringing together diverse health professionals—can improve the accessibility, coordination, and quality of primary care, particularly in rural and remote communities.

Accounting for the family physician workforce in Newfoundland and Labrador

Using a stock-and-flow method, this project analyzes the supply of and demand for family physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador (2014–2024) to understand the drivers of physician shortages and to inform health workforce planning and policy.

Unraveling the complexities of healthcare for new refugees in Newfoundland and Labrador

This project uses the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM), a systems approach, to map how social, cultural, and systemic factors interact to shape refugees’ access to health care. By identifying barriers and facilitators, the study proposes adaptive, culturally safe models of care to foster a more inclusive and equitable health system.

Enhancing Integrated Youth Services in Newfoundland and Labrador

As a principal investigator on this IYS-Net provincial network project, Dr. Najafizada contributes to a mixed-methods, wholistic approach to improving youth mental health and substance-use outcomes through integrated clinical and wrap-around service delivery.

Courses Taught

Graduate Courses

MED 6288 – Policy and Decision-Making

MED 6721 – Disease and Injury Prevention

MED 6220 – Introduction to Community Health

MED 6293 – Knowledge Transfer and Research Uptake

Medical School Undergraduate Courses

MED 5740 – Community Engagement I

MED 6780 – Community Engagement II

Selected Publications

1. Wassif, A. R., Najafizada, M., & Mulay, S. (2026). Influence of cultural beliefs and practices on unassisted homebirths in Afghanistan: A qualitative exploration. PLOS Global Public Health, 6(1), e0005870.

2. Najafizada, M. (2025). Beyond headcount: Four dimensions of Canada’s primary care access crisis and a three-level agenda for action. Frontiers in Medicine, 12.

3. Jacques, Q., Donnan, J., Bishop, L., Howells, R., Gao, Z., & Najafizada, M. (2025). Development of a cannabis health literacy questionnaire: Preliminary validation using the Rasch model. BMC Public Health, 25, 2539.

4. Donnan, J. R., Downey, M., Johnston, K., Najafizada, M., & Bishop, L. D. (2024). Examining attributes of retailers that influence where cannabis is purchased: A discrete choice experiment. Journal of Cannabis Research, 6(4).

5. Newport, K., Bishop, L., Donnan, J., Pal, S., & Najafizada, M. (2023). The COVID-19 pandemic and cannabis use in Canada—a scoping review. Journal of Cannabis Research, 5, 31.

6. Najafizada, M., Rahman, A., Donnan, J., Dong, Z., & Bishop, L. (2022). Analyzing sentiments and themes on cannabis in Canada using 2018 to 2020 Twitter data. Journal of Cannabis Research, 4, 22.

7. Najafizada, M., Rahman, A., & Oxford, K. (2021). Analyzing models of patient-centered care in Canada through a scoping review and environmental scan. Journal of Public Health (Berlin).

8. Najafizada, M., et al. (2021). Social determinants of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: A scoping review and research gaps. Indian Journal of Tuberculosis.

9. Cometto, G., … Najafizada, M., et al. (2018). Health policy and system support to optimise community health worker programmes: An abridged WHO guideline. The Lancet Global Health, 6, 1–8.

10. Najafizada, M., et al. (2017). Ranked performance of Canada’s health system on the international stage: A scoping review. Healthcare Policy, 13(1), 59–73.

11. Najafizada, M., et al. (2015). The role of Community Health Workers in Canada and some other HICs: A scoping review. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 106(3), e157–e164.

12. Najafizada, S. A. M., Labonte, R., & Bourgeault, I. L. (2014). Community health workers of Afghanistan: A qualitative study of a national program. Conflict and Health, 8, 26.

A full list of peer-reviewed publications is available in Dr. Najafizada’s CV or his website

Book Chapter

Maddalena, V., & Najafizada, M. (2021). Evidence-based decision-making 8: A primer on health policy for researchers. In Clinical Epidemiology: Practice and Methods (pp. 517–536). Springer US.

Reports & Policy Papers

Cannabis Health Evaluation Research Partnership. (2023). Helping to develop cannabis policy in NL: Prioritizing public health and safety – Evidence-to-Policy Symposium summary report. Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John’s, NL. (Role: Principal Investigator, CHERP project.) /pharmacy/media/production/memorial/academic/school-of-pharmacy/media-library/research/CHERP%20Symposium%20WWH%20Report.pdf

Donnan, J., Bishop, L., Najafizada, M., & Blackmore, A. (2021). Newfoundland and Labrador cannabis policy evaluation: Needs assessment report. St. John’s, NL. /pharmacy/media/production/memorial/academic/school-of-pharmacy/media-library/research/cannabiseval/CannabisPolicy_NeedsAssessmentReport.pdf

Najafizada, S. A. M. (2018). Policy research institutions and the health SDGs: Building momentum in South Asia – country report, Afghanistan. IDRC Library. http://hdl.handle.net/10625/57091

Najafizada, S. A. M., & Cohen, M. (2017). Alleviating poverty through social entrepreneurship. Mountain Society Research Institute. https://ucentralasia.org/media/ccjf1gqw/alleviatingpovertythroughsocialentrepreneurship.pdf

Cohen, D., … Najafizada, S. A. M. (2016). Canada’s international health system performance over 50 years. Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Popular Media Articles & Blogs

Najafizada, M. (2024). Episode 7 – Do you get patient-centered cancer care? Strength in Community podcast. https://strength-in-community.ca/2024/04/24/episode-7-do-you-get-patient-centered-cancer-care-a-cozy-hopeful-and-inspirational-chat-with-dr-maisam-najafizada/

Najafizada, M. (2023, April 17). Neonatal morbidity and mortality in Afghanistan. Afghanistan International TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YcaHfB2bJ4

Gaid, D., Donnan, J., Bishop, L., Najafizada, M., Josey, M., & Blackwood, M. (2022, January 10). Cannabis-impaired driving: Here’s what we know about the risks of weed behind the wheel. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/cannabis-impaired-driving-heres-what-we-know-about-the-risks-of-weed-behind-the-wheel-173823

Najafizada, M., Peterson, B., Donnan, J., Bishop, L., & Brennan, S. (2021, March 7). Cannabis education should aim to normalize — not prevent — safe and legal use. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/cannabis-education-should-aim-to-normalize-not-prevent-safe-and-legal-use-153966

Najafizada, M. (2020, November). Afghanistan’s need to prepare for the COVID-19 vaccine. Tolonews. https://tolonews.com/opinion-167888

Najafizada, M. (2019, September). Universal health coverage alone won’t radically improve global health. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/universal-health-coverage-alone-wont-radically-improve-global-health-122692

Najafizada, M., et al. (2019, August). #HelloMyNameIs: A simple act to improve patients’ experiences of care. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/hellomynameis-a-simple-act-to-improve-patients-experiences-of-care-121082

Najafizada, S. A. M. (2018, September). Women health-care volunteers have no upward mobility. The Conversation.

External Links