H-Phactors significant publications/patents

Extended Reality and Immersive Technology 

  • Elkefi, S., Tounsi, A., Boudiche, S., Matthews, A.K., Hernandez, R., & Lourimi, N. (2025). Role of extended reality in supporting cancer patients and survivors; benefits and challenges across the cancer care continuum. Discover Public Health. (In Press)
  • Hernandez, R., …, & Elkefi, S. (2025). Assessing Safety and Feasibility of Virtual Reality Intervention in Patients with Lung Cancer: A Pilot Study. Supportive Care in Cancer. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S. & Choudhury, A. (2025). Role of Virtual Reality in Improving Home Cancer Care: A Systematic Literature Review. Electronics. doi:10.3390/electronics14020385
  • Lourimi, N. & Elkefi, S. (2024). A Mixed Methods Study on the Feasibility and Design of a Virtual Reality–Based Tool for Stress Management and Relief Among University Students; a Case Study of Students in Developing Countries. In Forging Bridges… (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S. & Lourimi, N. (2024). Supporting Doctor–Patient Communication and the Therapeutic Alliance in Pediatric Care Through Extended Reality: A Systematic Review. Healthcare Supply Chain. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-70292-1-29
  • Elkefi, S., Layeb, S., Bhar, S., & Slimen, M. (2024). SAFE’ME: An Augmented Reality Application to Support Harm Awareness for the Safety Promotion of Children with Autism Disorders. IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics (In Press)
  • Lourimi, N., Elkefi, S., & Bhar, S. (2024). Exploring Healthcare Providers’ Perspectives on Use of Extended Reality Technologies for Sustainable Healthcare: A Twitter Analysis. IEEE ICSI 2024. (In Press)

Digital Health and Health Informatics 

  • Elkefi, S. & Wu, P., Feiner, S., Matthews, A., Chen, N. (2025). Role of Technology in Supporting Lung Cancer Patients Before, During and After Treatment: A Systematic Literature Review of the Benefits and Challenges. npj Digital Medicine. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S. & Matthews, A. (2024). Lessons Learned from the Pre-Implementation Phase of the Patient Navigation in Federally Qualified Health Centers: One Step Closer to Smoking Cessation. Frontiers in Public Health. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S., Martinez, T., et al. (2025). Lessons Learned from the Usability Assessment of an EHR-Based Tool to Support Adherence to Antihypertensive Medications. Applied Clinical Informatics. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S. (2024). Disparities and Determinants of Online Medical Record Access Among Cancer Survivors. Healthcare. doi:10.3390/healthcare12161569
  • Elkefi, S. & Asan, O. (2024). Validating the Effectiveness of the Patient-Centered Cancer Care Framework by Assessing the Impact of Work System Factors on Patient-Centered Care and Quality of Care: Interview Study With Newly Diagnosed Cancer Patients. JMIR Human Factors. doi:10.2196/53053
  • Elkefi, S. & Asan, O. (2023). The Health Information Technology Preferences and Perceptions of Newly Diagnosed Patients with Cancer. International Journal of Medical Informatics. doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2023.105275
  • Elkefi, S. (2024). Exploring predictors of social media use for health and wellness during COVID-19 among adults in the US: a Social Cognitive Theory application. Healthcare, 12(1), 39. doi:10.3390/healthcare12010039
  • Elkefi, S. (2023). Access and usage of mobile health (mHealth) for communication, health monitoring, and decision-making among patients with multiple chronic diseases (comorbidities). IISE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering. doi:10.1080/24725579.2023.2267085
  • Elkefi, S., Trapani, D., & Ryan, S. (2023). The role of digital health in supporting cancer patients’ mental health and psychological wellbeing: Systematic literature review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 174, 104430. doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2023.105065
  • Elkefi, S., Asan, O., & Crotty, B. (2023). Exchange of health information among doctors using electronic health records: Facilitators and barriers from a sociotechnical perspective. IISE Transactions on Healthcare Systems Engineering. doi:10.1080/24725579.2023.2177780
  • Elkefi, S., & Asan, O. (2022). Using health information technology to support the needs of children with medical complexity: Mapping review of consumer informatics applications. Frontiers in Digital Health, 4, 992838. doi:10.3389/fdgth.2022.992838
  • Elkefi, S., Blecker, S., & Bitan, Y. (2022). Health information technology supporting adherence memory disorder patients: A systematic literature review. Applied Clinical Informatics. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1776792
  • Elkefi, S., & Bhar, S. (2022). Telemedicine’s future in the post-COVID-19 era, benefits, and challenges: A mixed-method cross-sectional study. Behaviour & Information Technology. doi:10.1080/0144929X.2022.2137060
  • Elkefi, S., & Asan, O. (2022). Digital twins for healthcare systems’ management: Rapid literature review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(8), e37641. doi:10.2196/37641
  • Choudhury, A., Elkefi, S., Stratchna, O., & Asan, O. (2022). Effect of patient portals on perception of care quality, general health, and mental health: An exploratory analysis. Human Factors in Healthcare Journal, 1, 100018. doi:10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100018
  •  Elkefi, S., & Asan, O. (2024). Patient-centered communication’s association with trust, satisfaction, and perception of electronic health records use among newly diagnosed patients with cancer. Frontiers in Communication. doi:10.3389/fcomm.2024.1391981

Cancer Screening, Decision Aids and Patient Education

  • Elkefi, S., Phillips, E., Groner, L.K., & Matthews, A. (2025). Predictors of Up-to-Date Lung Cancer Screening Among Eligible People in the United States: A Nationally Representative Dataset. Clinical Lung Health. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S. & Matthews, A. (2025). Factors Impacting Breast Cancer Survivors’ Performance of Annual Follow-Up Mammograms: A Nationally Representative Study. Patient Education and Counseling Innovation. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2024.108428
  • Elkefi, S. & Choudhury, A. (2025). Demographic Disparities and Factors Influencing Cancer Treatment Decision-Making. Journal of Cancer Education. doi:10.1007/s13187-025-02570-w
  • Elkefi, S. & Matthews, A. (2024). Exploring Health Information-Seeking Behavior and Information Sources Preferences Among a Diverse Sample of Cancer Survivors: Predictive Analysis. Journal of Cancer Education. doi:10.1007/s13187-024-02448-3
  • Elkefi, S., & Sabra, R. (2024). Use of Participatory Ergonomics to Ensure the Safety of Patients and Healthcare Workers in Cancer Care Settings; PECS Framework. Healthcare Supply Chain. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-70292-1-17

Population Health, Disparities and Equity

  • Elkefi, S., Bruzzese, J., Lelutiu-Weinberger, C., & Matthews, A. (2025). Factors Associated with Post-Treatment Smoking Among a Diverse Sample of Cancer Survivors. Discover Public Health. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S., Bruzzese, J., Lelutiu-Weinberger, C., & Matthews, A. (2025). Second-Hand Smoke Exposure and Risk of Lung Cancer Among Nonsmokers in the United States: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S. & Choudhury, A. (2024). Middle Ground Between Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research to Support Decision Making in Healthcare Systems in Africa: Soft-AI, Case Studies in Operations Research from Africa. In Africa Case Studies in Operations Research
  •  Jayasekera, J., Elkefi, S., … (2023). Opportunities, challenges, and future directions for simulation modeling the effects of structural racism on cancer mortality in the U.S.: A scoping review. Journal of the National Cancer Institute Monographs, 62, 231–245. doi:10.1093/jncimonographs/lgad020
  • Li, C., Manella, J., Elkefi, S., et al. (2024). Does the Updated LDCT Lung Cancer Screening Guideline Bridge the Racial Disparities Gap? Results from the Health and Retirement Study. Journal of the National Medical Association. doi:10.1016/j.jnma.2024.01.008
  • Elkefi, S., & Matthews, A. (2024). Disparities in the care disruption during COVID-19 and in its impacts on the mental and physical well-being of cancer survivors. American Journal of Health Promotion. doi:10.1177/089011712412622

AI/LLM and Human-AI Interaction

  • Elkefi, S., Tounsi, A., & Kefi, A. (2024). Use of ChatGPT for Education by Engineering Students in Developing Countries: A Mixed-Methods Study Using Health Belief Model. Behaviour & Information Technology. doi:10.1080/0144929X.2024.2354428
  • Elkefi, S. & Chaudhury, A. (2025). Human-LLM Collaboration for Decision-Making in Public Health: Challenges and Opportunities. In Forging Bridges between Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S. & Tounsi, A. (2024). The Potential of Large Language Models (LLM) in Supporting Healthcare Workflows. In Forging Bridges between Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research. (In Press)
  • Choudhury, A., Elkefi, S., & Tounsi, A. (2024). Exploring Factors Influencing User Perspective of ChatGPT as a Technology That Assists in Healthcare Decision Making: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study. PLOS ONE. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0296151
  • Choudhury, A., & Elkefi, S. (2022). Acceptance, initial trust, and human biases in artificial intelligence: Focus on clinicians. Frontiers in Digital Health. doi:10.3389/fdgth.2022.966174
  • Elkefi, S., & Bhar, S. (2022). Middle ground between artificial intelligence and operations research to support decision making in healthcare systems in Africa: Soft-AI. In Africa Case Studies in Operations Research: A Closer Look into Applications and Algorithms. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-70292-1

Human Factors, Participatory Ergonomics and Work Environments

  • Elkefi, S., Sabra, R., Hajjar, Wheelers, D., & Aref, E. (2024). Use of Participatory Ergonomics for the Safety of Healthcare Workers; A Systematic Literature Review. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science. doi:10.1080/1463922X.2024.2373439
  • Elkefi, S., Tounsi, A., & Asan, O. (2022). Using Human Factors Approach to Evaluate Patient-Centered Cancer Care. In AHFE International Conference (AHFE Open Access, vol 52). doi:10.54941/ahfe1002186
  • Elkefi, S. & Asan, O. (2022). Validity of Wearable Devices’ Use in Geriatric Care Between Patient-Centeredness and Psychology of Patients. In ISSE 2022 Proceedings. doi:10.1177/2327857922111025
  • Elkefi, S., & Asan, O. (2023). Perceived patient workload and its impact on outcomes during new cancer patient visits: Analysis of a convenience sample. JMIR Human Factors, 10, e49490. doi:10.2196/49490
  • Emhan, A., Elkefi, S., & Asan, O. (2022). Predictors of healthcare professionals’ work difficulty perception during the COVID-19 pandemic: Study of work environment in a pandemic hospital. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5174. doi:10.3390/ijerph19095174
  • Elkefi, S., Asan, O., & Mnasouri, M. (2021). Change management and continuous improvement for smarter care: A systems viewpoint. Proceedings of ISSE 2021. doi:10.1109/ISSE51541.2021.9582529
  • Elkefi, S., Asan, O., & Mnasouri, M. (2021). Change management and continuous improvement for smarter care: A systems viewpoint. Proceedings of ISSE 2021. doi:10.1109/ISSE51541.2021.9582529
  • Tabur, A., Elkefi, S., Emhan, A., Mengenci, C., Bez, Y., & Asan, O. (2022). Anxiety, burnout and depression, psychological well-being as predictor of healthcare professionals’ turnover during the COVID-19 pandemic: Study in a pandemic hospital. Healthcare, 10(3), 525. doi:10.3390/healthcare10030525

Substance Abuse Control Publications

  • Elkefi, S., & Matthews, A. (2024). Lessons learned from the pre-implementation phase of the patient navigation in Federally Qualified Health Centers: one step closer to smoking cessation. Frontiers in Public Health. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S., Lelutiu-Weinberger, C., Bruzzese, J., & Matthews, A. (2025). Factors associated with post-treatment smoking among a diverse sample of cancer survivors. Discover Public Health. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S., Bruzzese, J., Lelutiu-Weinberger, C., & Matthews, A. (2025). Second-hand smoke exposure and risk of lung cancer among nonsmokers in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. (In Press)
  • Elkefi, S., Lelutiu-Weinberger, C., Bruzzese, J., & Matthews, A. (2024). Disparities in exposure to pro-tobacco and anti-tobacco advertisements in the United States. Journal of Substance Use and Misuse. doi:10.1080/10826084.2024.2423369
  • Matthews, A., Inwanna, S., Elkefi, S., et al. (2024). An exploration of attitudes regarding the use of a state tobacco quitline for smoking cessation treatment among adults with a history of smoking. Tobacco Prevention and Cessation. doi:10.18332/tpc/193572