Teaching Strengths
Prof Hossein Haji Ali Afzali
Professor
School of Public Health
College of Health
I have a background in medicine (MD) and obtained my PhD in health economics from the University of Adelaide (2007). My main area of expertise relates to the economic evaluation of new health technologies with a focus on the application of decision analytic models aiming to improve the decision-making process around the public funding of health care interventions.
In terms of applied economic evaluations, my major research activity is the design, conduct and analysis of economic evaluations alongside observational studies and clinical trials. This also includes the application of decision analytic models to extrapolate the findings beyond the observed data in order to estimate long-term costs and outcomes of new health technologies. The main focus of my methodological research is on the improvements in the decision-making process with a view to better inform public funding decisions. Examples include the development of diseases-specific reference models, model structuring (including structural uncertainty) and the estimate of the cost-effectiveness threshold in Australia.
Since 2020, as a chief investigator, I have received over $25 million in research funding from competitive grants. I am coordinator of health economics courses within undergraduate and postgraduate public health teaching programs at Adelaide University. Previously (2019-2023) I was coordinator of all postgraduate public health teaching programs (including MPH) at Flinders University.
For 9 years I was a member of the Evaluation Sub-Committee (ESC) of the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) (2015-2023) whose role is to advise the Australian government on evidence relating to the safety, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of new medical technologies and procedures. I was also an evaluator of submissions to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to determine funding of medicines (2007-2009). I have also been involved in revising MSAC and PBAC Guidelines.
Research Interests
- Economic evaluation
- Decision analytic modelling for health economic evaluation
- Health technology assessment (HTA)
- Hospital efficiency measurement
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 - ongoing | Professor (Health Economics) | University of Adelaide |
| 2024 - 2026 | Head, Discipline of Population Health | Flinders University |
| 2024 - 2026 | Professor (Health Economics) | Flinders University |
| 2018 - 2024 | Associate Professor (Health Economics) | Flinders University |
| 2012 - 2018 | Senior Lecturer (Health Economics) | University of Adelaide |
| 2009 - 2011 | Research Fellow (Health Economics) | University of Adelaide |
| 2007 - 2009 | Senior Research Officer | University of Adelaide |
| 2000 - 2002 | Head (Abourayhan Medical Centre) | The Iranian Social Security Organization |
| 1995 - 2000 | General Practitioner | The Iranian Social Security Organization |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 - 2007 | University of Adelaide | Australia | PhD in Health Economics |
| 2003 - 2004 | University of Adelaide | Australia | Graduate Diploma in Public Health |
| 1987 - 1995 | University of Tehran | Iran | Doctor of Medicine (MD) |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Haji Ali Afzali, H., & Karnon, J. (2014). Specification and implementation of decision analytic model structures for the economic evaluation of health care technologies. In A. J. Culyer (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Health Economics (1st ed., pp. 340-347). Elsevier. DOI Scopus7 |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2017 | Edney, L. C., Afzali, H. A. H., Cheng, T., & Kamon, J. (2017). ESTIMATING THE REFERENCE ICER FOR AUSTRALIA AND PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS TOWARD ITS USE. In VALUE IN HEALTH Vol. 20 (pp. A685). ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. DOI |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Gray, J. P., Hajiali Afzali, H., Harris, M., Spooner, C., & Karnon, J. (2015). Countering weight gain in general practice [Plenary presentation]. Poster session presented at the meeting of COMPaRE-PHC forum on obesity prevention and management in primary health care. Sydney, Australia. |
| 2015 | Gray, J. P., Hajiali Afzali, H., Harris, M., Spooner, C., Hunter-Riviere, V., Ross, H., . . . Karnon, J. (2015). Weight management in general practice: Piloting the Counterweight Program in Australia. Poster session presented at the meeting of Population Health Congress. Hobart, Australia. |
| 2015 | Gray, J. P., Hunter-Riviere, V., Hajiali Afzali, H., Harris, M., Spooner, C., Ross, H., . . . Karnon, J. (2015). Engaging practice nurses in obesity management – a clinical academic partnership to pilot the Counterweight Program [Presentation]. Poster session presented at the meeting of PHC Research Conference. Adelaide, Australia. |
| 2015 | Hajiali Afzali, H., Karnon, J., & Sculpher, M. (2015). Should the lambda remain silent?. Poster session presented at the meeting of 12th Annual Conference of Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi).. Oslo: Norway. |
| 2015 | Hajiali Afzali, H. (2015). Structural uncertainty in decision making. Poster session presented at the meeting of Centre for Health Economics. Monash University. Melbourne-Australia. |
| 2014 | Hajiali Afzali, H. (2014). Improving the quality of decisions around the public funding of new health technologies: The value of disease-specific (reference) models. Poster session presented at the meeting of 11th Annual Conference of Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi).. Washington DC: USA. |
| 2013 | • Haji Ali Afzali, H., Karnon, J., Merlin, T., & Hajiali Afzali, H. (2013). Improving the accuracy and comparability of model-based economic evaluations of health technologies for reimbursement decisions: a methodological framework for the development of reference models.. Poster session presented at the meeting of the 10th Annual Health Technology Assessment international (HTAi) Conference. Seoul, South Korea. |
| 2011 | Gray, J. P., Hajiali Afzali, H., & Karnon, J. (2011). A model based evaluation of primary care based initiatives in the management of patients with obesity in Australia [Plenary presentation]. Poster session presented at the meeting of Tri State PHCRED Annual Conference. Adelaide, Australia. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Karnon, J., Afzali, H., & Bonevski, B. (2022). Should rapid antigen tests be government funded in Australia? An economic evaluation. DOI |
Research Support / Grants Held / Consultancy projects Role
Research grants (Category 1) (Since 2020)
- 2025-2030: (Chief Investigator): Enhanced Outcomes for young people with endometriosis through diagnostic delay reduction. NHMRC ($1,978,271)
- 2025-2027: (Chief Investigator): Medication safety needs rounds: reducing medication-induced harm in aged care homes. MRFF ($999,847)
- 2025-2030: (Chief Investigator): Establishing the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation National Cardiac Registry. MRFF ($6,999,912)
- 2025-2027: (Chief Investigator): IMPACT - Indigenous measures for protecting and addressing critical trauma. MRFF ($999,181)
- 2024-2029: (Chief Investigator): SMART-PH- Digitising information for practice in public health. MRFF- National Critical Research Infrastructure ($2,999,842)
- 2023-2027: (Chief Investigator): Giving Donor milk instead of formula in preterm infants: The GIFT Trial. NHMRC ($2,243,378)
- 2023-2026: (Chief Investigator): Faecal Microbiota Transplantation to improve pain, symptom management and treatment efficacy in patients with pancreatic cancer. MRFF ($1,521,000)
- 2023-2026: (Chief investigator): Implementation of an omega-3 precision nutrition strategy to prevent preterm birth. MRFF ($1,366,713).
- 2021-2023: (Chief Investigator): 3D-Printed Facial Guards to reduce P2/N95 respirator leak and protect health care workers from COVID-19. MRFF ($973,119)
- 2020-2025: (Chief Investigator): Iodine supplementation in pregnancy to improve early childhood neurodevelopment: how much is enough? MRFF ($3,235,000)
Teaching
Economic evaluation in health care: Over the past 15 years I have been coordinator for a number of undergraduate and postgraduate health economics courses at both Adelaide University and Flinders University including: ‘Health Economics’ (a core course for Master of Health Economics and Policy mainly focusing on economic evaluation of new pharmaceuticals), ‘Evaluation in Public Health’ (a core course for MPH), ‘Hacking Health’ (a core course for Advanced Bachelor of Health Sciences), and ‘MPPD3-Health Economics (a core course for 3rd year medical students). I was also coordinator of the following teaching programs at Flinders University (2019-2023)
- Master of Public Health
- Graduate Certificate in Public Health
- Graduate Certificate in Health Promotion
| Date | Role | Research Topic | Program | Degree Type | Student Load | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 - 2019 | Co-Supervisor | Improving Adolescent Health Through Immunisation: A Case Study - Invasive Meningococcal Disease | Doctor of Philosophy | Doctorate | Full Time | Dr Bing Wang |
| 2012 - 2014 | Co-Supervisor | Clinical outcomes, costs, knowledge and awareness of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in South Australia | Master of Philosophy (Public Health) | Master | Full Time | Dr Bing Wang |
| Date | Institution | Department | Organisation Type | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 - ongoing | - | - | - | - |
| 2012 - ongoing | Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA) | - | - | Australia |
| 2012 - 2014 | Australian Catholic University | - | - | Australia |
| Date | Role | Editorial Board Name | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 - ongoing | Board Member | Applied Health Economics and Health Policy | - | Australia |
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