Contact Information

Biography

Dr. Elvin Khanjahani is distinguished scholar and dedicated educator whose work intersects health economics, health services research, and public health, with a focus on health equity and data-driven decision-making. He has received numerous prestigious fellowships, including the University of Central Florida's Trustees' Doctoral Fellowship, Graduate Dean's Dissertation Completion Fellowship, and Duquesne University's Presidential Scholarship Award.

Dr. Khanjahani's research focuses on uncovering and addressing racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in health outcomes and healthcare access. His expertise in utilizing advanced statistical approaches, machine learning techniques, and computational tools enables him to analyze complex datasets and derive actionable insights that inform policy and practice. His recent studies include predictive modeling of county-level disparities in COVID-19 mortality and socioeconomic inequalities in preventable hospitalizations.

As a Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA) with a strong foundation in computational mathematics, Dr. Khanjahani excels in designing innovative, data-driven research studies. His work combines rigorous methodology with practical applications, addressing pressing challenges in healthcare and public health. He is particularly skilled in leveraging big data analytics and health informatics to tackle systemic issues, offering solutions that improve health outcomes and reduce disparities.

Dr. Khanjahani has a proven track record of collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to conduct impactful research. His publications in top-tier journals demonstrate his commitment to advancing health research through evidence-based insights.

Education

  • Ph.D., Public Affairs - Health Services Management and Research, University of Central Florida
  • M.S., Computational Mathematics and Statistics, Duquesne University
  • M.S., Health Economics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences
  • B.S., Health Services Administration, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Research Interests or Expertise

  • Health Disparities
  • Social Determinants of Health
  • Healthcare Access and Utilization
  • Maternal and Child Health
  • Health Policy and Economics

School

About

Professional Certification:

  • Certified in Public Health (C.P.H), National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE)
  • Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA), American Health Information Management (AHIMA)

Professional Membership:

  • American Public Health Association (APHA)
  • AcademyHealth
  • American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon)
  • American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
  • Khanijahani, A., Pawcio, S. Household food insecurity and childhood obesity/overweight among children with special healthcare needs: Results from a nationally representative sample of 10–17 years old U.S. children. Pediatric Obesity. 2023;18(5):e13015. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.13015.
  • Khanijahani, A., Tomassoni, L. Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Recovery from Childhood Behavioral or Conduct Problems: Evidence from a Nationally Representative Sample of 3–17 Years Old US Children. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-022-01444-3.
  • Khanijahani, A., Iezadi, S., Agoglia, S., Barber, S., Cox. C., Olivo, N. Factors Associated with Information Breach in Healthcare Facilities: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Medical Systems. 2022;46(12):90. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-022-01877-1.
  • Khanijahani, A., Akinci, N., & Quitiquit, E. A systematic review of the role of telemedicine in blood pressure control: focus on patient engagement. Current Hypertension Reports. 2022. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-022-01186-5.
  • Khanijahani, A., Iezadi, S., Wise, J., Dudley, S., Kroetsch P., & Goettler, M. Organizational, professional, and patient characteristics associated with artificial intelligence adoption in healthcare: A systematic review. Health Policy and Technology. 2022;11(1):100602. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hlpt.2022.100602.
  • Khanijahani A. Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States: a county-level analysis as of November 2020. Ethnicity and Health. 2021;26(1):22-35. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2020.1853067.
  • Khanijahani A, Tomassoni L. Socioeconomic and Racial Segregation and COVID-19: Concentrated Disadvantage and Black Concentration in Association with COVID-19 Deaths in the USA. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. 2021. doi: 10.1007/s40615-021-00965-1.
  • Khanijahani A, Calhoun B, Kiel J. Internet use habits and influenza vaccine uptake among US adults: results from seven years (2012–2018) of the National Health Interview Survey. Public Health. 2021;195:76-82. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2021.04.007.
  • Khanijahani A, Sualp K. Adverse Childhood Experiences, Neighborhood Support, and Internalizing and Externalizing Mental Disorders among 6–17 years old US Children: Evidence from a Population-Based Study. Community Mental Health Journal. 2021. doi: 10.1007/s10597-021-00808-7.
  • Khanijahani A, Iezadi S, Gholipour K, Azami-Aghdash S, Naghibi D. A systematic review of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2021;20(1):248. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01582-4.
  • Khanijahani A, Akinci N, Iezadi S, Priore D. Impacts of high-deductible health plans on patients with diabetes: A systematic review of the literature. Prim Care Diabetes. 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcd.2021.07.015.
  • Linkov F, Khanijahani A, Swanson-Biearman B, Akinci F. Remote Internship: Practical Approaches to Sustaining Student Internships Amid Public Health Epidemics. J Health Adm Educ. 2021;38(1):363-76.
  • Khanijahani A. Governance and public health: implications for targeting smoking in the United States. International Journal of Health Governance. 2020;25(2):151-9. doi: 10.1108/IJHG-06-2019-0041.
  • King C, Khanijahani A. Unmet health care needs among children of mothers exposed to violence. Child Abuse Negl. 2020;101:104363. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104363.
  • Khanijahani A, A county-level analysis of age-adjusted excess COVID-19 mortalities and its association with racial/ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics. American Public Health Association (APHA) 2022 Annual Meeting and Expo; November 9, 2022; Boston, MA.
  • Khanijahani A, & Linkov F. Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States. University of Pittsburgh Diversity Forum Workshop; July 27, 2022; Virtual.
  • Khanijahani A, Tomassoni L. Socioeconomic and racial disparities in recovery from behavioral problems among a nationally representative sample of 3-17 years old US children. American Public Health Association (APHA) 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo; October 21, 2021; Denver, CO.
  • Khanijahani A, Pawcio S. Disproportionate risk of obesity among children with special health care needs who are impacted by food insecurity and insufficiency. American Public Health Association (APHA) 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo; October 22, 2021; Denver, CO.
  • Khanijahani A, Iezadi S, Wise J, Dudley S, Kroetsch P, Goettler M. Organizational, Professional, and Patient Characteristics Associated with the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. AHIMA21 Conference; September 21, 2021; Virtual.
  • Khanijahani A, Hong Y, Baek J. Socioeconomic and Racial Disparities in the Prevalence of Asthma and Recovery from Asthma Among a Nationally Representative Sample of 0-17 Years Old US Children. AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting; June 14, 2021; Virtual.
  • Khanijahani A, Calhoun B, Kiel J. Internet Use for Health Information and Communication, and Influenza Vaccine Uptake Among US Adults: Results from the National Health Interview Survey 2012-2018. AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting; June 14, 2021; Virtual.
  • Akinci F, Khanijahani A, Linkov F. COVID-19 adjustments and strategies in education, research, and healthcare management: local and global experiences. Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) 2021 Annual Meeting; June 8, 2021; Virtual.
  • Lin S, Khanijahani A, Younge R. Violence exposure, sleep and resilience factors among children and adolescents-analysis of the national survey of children's health (NSCH) 2016-2017. American Public Health Association (APHA) 2020 Annual Meeting and Expo; October 27, 2020; Virtual.
  • Khanijahani A. Using Microsoft Excel to improve efficiency in working with large datasets in Stata. 2020 Stata Conference; July 31, 2020; Virtual.
  • Khanijahani A. Disparities in Adequate Sleep Among U.S. Children: Results from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting; June 8, 2020; Virtual.
  • Khanijahani A., Wan T. Unmet medical need and health disparities among U.S. adults. International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR); May 22, 2019; New Orleans, LA.
  • Khanijahani A, Wan T. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) Analysis in Studying Health Disparities: Applications in Understanding Unmet Medical Need. American Public Health Association (APHA) 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo; November 6, 2019; Philadelphia, PA.
  • Khanijahani A, Sualp K. The Role of Neighborhood Factors in Children's Behavioral and Mood Problems: Controlling for Individual and Family Characteristics and Context. 22nd Annual American Association of Behavioral & Social Science Conference (AABSS); February 25, 2019; Las Vegas, NV.

Select Research Areas:

  • Health Disparities and Social Determinants of Health
  • Healthcare Access and Utilization
  • Maternal and Child Health
  • Health Policy and Economics

Select Research Methods and Statistical Analysis:

  • Complex Survey Data Analysis
  • Multilevel Analysis
  • Structural Equation Modelling
  • Big Data Analytics and Machine Learning

Graduate Courses

  • HADM 517 - Healthcare Economics and Policy
  • HADM 529 - Operations and Quality Management in Healthcare
  • HADM 530 - Directed Study
  • HADM 538 - Data Mining and Predictive Modeling
  • HLTM 540W  - Health Informatics and Data Analytics

Undergraduate Courses

  • PBHL 325 - Introduction to Health Economics
  • HADM 323 - Healthcare Operation
  • HADM 402 - Quality and Performance Improvement
  • PBHL 405 - Health Promotion
  • HLTM 493 - Risk Management
  • HLTM 450 - Cases in Health Care Management