Rafael José Vieira
Research interests
Evidence Synthesis: systematic reviews, meta-analysis, GRADE
Health Economics: cost of illness, cost-utility analysis, health-related quality-of-life
Biostatistics: Bayesian data analysis, hierarchical models, causal inference
Education
Academic degrees
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2022 — present | PhD student in Clinical and Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto Supervisors: Bernardo Sousa-Pinto, Luís Filipe Azevedo, João A. Fonseca Thesis: Using real-world and secondary data to estimate the global burden of allergic rhinitis |
| 2014 — 2020 | Integrated Master in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto Grade: 17/20 (A) Thesis: Efficacy and safety of corticosteroid implants in non-infectious uveitis: a systematic review with network meta-analysis |
Short courses
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Value-Based Health Care, Training School, NET4Age-Friendly |
| 2024 | Advanced Confounding Adjustment, Summer School, CAUSALab, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health |
| 2024 | Combining Information for Causal Inference, Summer School, CAUSALab, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health |
| 2023 | Level 2: Guideline Methodologist, International Guideline Development Credentialing & Certification (INGUIDE) Program, hosted by the Guidelines International Network and McMaster University |
| 2023 | Level 1: Guideline Group or Panel Member Course, International Guideline Development Credentialing & Certification (INGUIDE) Program, hosted by the Guidelines International Network and McMaster University |
| 2023 | Bayesian Methods in Health Economics, Summer School, University College of London |
| 2023 | Risk factors, Health Impact Assessment and Knowledge Translation, Training School, European Burden of Disease Network |
| 2022 | Introduction to Bayesian Latent Class models for health scientists, Training School, HARMONY: Novel tools for test evaluation and disease prevalence estimation |
| 2022 | General concepts of burden of disease, Training School, European Burden of Disease Network |
| 2022 | Advanced data presentation using R: Interactive apps and animated graphs, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2022 | Meta-analysis with R, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2021 | Blended Learning Introduction to Clinical Studies, 6 ECTS, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
Employment
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2021 — present | Collaborator Centre for Health Technology and Services Research |
| 2021 — present | Invited Assistant Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2018 — 2022 | Medical Content Creator Kenhub GmbH |
| 2021 — 2021 | Medical Resident University Hospital Centre of São João |
Teaching activity
Subjects
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2025 — present | Thesis, project and traineeship protocols III, 3 ECTS, Master in Health Evidence and Decision Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2025 — present | Thesis, project and traineeship protocols I, 3 ECTS, Master in Health Evidence and Decision (Co-coordinator) Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2024 — present | Thesis, project and traineeship protocols II, 3 ECTS, Master in Health Evidence and Decision Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2024 — present | Fundamentals of Health Data Science, 3 ECTS, Bachelors in Digital Health and Biomedical Innovation Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2023 — present | Research Methods, 6 ECTS, Master in Psychiatry and Mental Health Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2022 — present | Health Technology Assessment, 6 ECTS, Master in Health Evidence and Decision Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2022 — present | Research Methods in Health Sciences, 9 ECTS, Master in Health Evidence and Decision Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2022 — present | Health Services Research, 6 ECTS, Master in Health Evidence and Decision Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2022 — present | Biostatistics: Theory and practice of data analysis, 2 ECTS, Blended Learning Introduction to Clinical Studies Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2022 — present | Research Methodology: From bibliographic search to the study design, 1.5 ECTS, Blended Learning Introduction to Clinical Studies Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2021 — present | DECIDES I: Decision, Data and Statistics in Health, 4 ECTS, Integrated Master in Medicine Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2021 — present | DECIDES II: Decision, Data and Evidence in Health, 4 ECTS, Integrated Master in Medicine Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
| 2022 — 2024 | DECIDES III: Decision, Data and Digital Health, 4 ECTS, Integrated Master in Medicine Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto |
Workshops
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Efficient Literature Reviews with Artificial Intelligence Tools MEDSTART — Congresso Nacional do Internato de Formação Geral |
| 2023 | Peer Review 44th Annual Meeting of the Portuguese Allergy and Clinical Immunology Association |
Students
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2023 — 2024 | Maria Inês Torres, MSc in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto “Intranasal versus oral treatment for allergic rhinitis: a systematic review with meta-analysis” Advisor |
| 2023 — 2024 | Tatiana Teixeira, MSc in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto “Perceptions of the impact of individual allergic rhinitis symptoms: a survey to clinical experts” Advisor |
| 2023 — 2024 | Joana Aguiar, MSc in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto “Ultrasonographic tools of preterm birth screening” Co-advisor |
| 2023 — 2024 | Magda Almeida, MSc in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto “Carbamazepine for neonatal seizures: a systematic review” Co-advisor |
| 2023 — 2024 | Beatriz Gama, MSc in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto “Gastrointestinal effects of caffeine in preterm infants - systematic review” Co-advisor |
| 2022 — 2023 | Helena Ribeiro, MSc in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto “Platelet transfusions in preterm infants: current concepts and controversies - a systematic review and meta-analysis” Co-advisor |
| 2022 — 2023 | Catarina Soares, MSc in Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto “Neurodevelopment outcomes in the first five years of the life of children with Transposition of the Great Arteries surgically corrected in the neonatal period” Co-advisor |
Professional experiences
Participation in international projects
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2023 — present | 2024 Revision of the Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) Guidelines Methodologist & Panel Member |
Participation in national projects
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2021 — 2022 | COVIDLearning - Knowledge Sharing for Health Professionals Researcher |
Institutional responsibilities
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2023 — present | Course Monitoring Committee, PhD in Clinical and Health Services Research Member |
| 2022 — present | Departmental Council, Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto Representative of Teaching Assistants |
Event organisation
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2024 | InHealth Junior Academy, Porto, Portugal https://inhealth.med.up.pt |
| 2023 | Change Health Days, Porto, Portugal https://noticias.up.pt/eventos/change-health-daysfmup/ |
| 2022 | Cochrane Portugal Annual Meeting 2022, Remote & Porto, Portugal https://medcids.med.up.pt/cochrane/ |
| 2022 | Health Data Forum, Remote & Porto, Portugal https://healthdataforum.eu/2022-summit/ |
Associations
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2024 — present | Portugal GRADE Network, Member |
| 2024 — present | GRADE Working Group, Member |
| 2023 — present | Americal Statistical Association, Member |
| 2022 — present | European Burden of Disease Network, Member of the Rare Disease and the Determinants of Health Inequalities Taskforces |
| 2022 — present | Cochrane Portugal — Porto Associate Centre, Member |
| 2021 — present | European Association of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Junior Member |
Contributions to peer-review
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2022 — present | The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice — Biostatistics reviewer (5); Clinical and Translational Allergy (5); Journal of Medical Internet Research (2); JMIR Dermatology (2); Porto Biomedical Journal (2); BMC Ophthalmology (1); BMC Pulmonary Medicine (1); Frontiers in Pediatrics (1); Frontiers in Medicine (1). |
Funding
Grants
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2022 — present | 2022.12787.BD – Using real-world and secondary data to estimate the global burden of allergic rhinitis (€45,000), PhD Studentship Grant. Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia |
| 2024 | Training School, Value-Based Health Care (€600), Travel Grant. CA19136: Net4Age-Friendly |
| 2024 | DISRUPT Quality of Care Hackathon (€400), Travel Grant. World Health Organisation |
| 2024 | 2nd International burden of disease conference (€1000), Travel Grant. CA18218: European Burden of Disease Network |
| 2024 | Short Term Scientific Mission at Sciensano (€3,000), Travel Grant. CA18218: European Burden of Disease Network |
| 2023 | Youth Dialogue on Internet Governance 2023 (€500), Travel Grant. European Dialogue on Internet Governance |
| 2023 | 4th Working Group Meeting (€950), Travel Grant. CA18218: European Burden of Disease Network |
| 2023 | International burden of disease conference (€1,150), Travel Grant. CA18218: European Burden of Disease Network |
| 2023 | Training school, Risk factors, Health Impact Assessment and Knowledge Translation (€900), Travel Grant. CA18218: European Burden of Disease Network |
| 2022 | Training School, Introduction to Bayesian Latent Class models for health scientists (€1,000), Travel Grant. CA18208: Novel tools for test evaluation and disease prevalence estimation |
| 2022 | Training School, General concepts of burden of disease (€2,000), Travel Grant. CA18218: European Burden of Disease Network |
Publications
Google Scholar metrics: 397 citations · h-index 12 · i10-index 14
Peer-reviewed papers
| year | number | citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | J41 | Impact of allergic rhinitis control on work productivity and costs: a real-world data MASK-air study The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 8.2 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2024.07.026 |
| J40 | Protocol for the systematic reviews on the desirable and undesirable effects of pharmacological treatments of allergic rhinitis informing the ARIA 2024 guidelines Allergologie select 2024 8(1):270-277 · JIF: 1.4 (Q3) http://dx.doi.org/10.5414/ALX02515E |
|
| J39 | Concepts for the development of person-centred, digitally-enabled, Artificial Intelligence-assisted ARIA care pathways (ARIA 2024) The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 8.2 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2024.06.040 |
|
| J38 | Impact of Uncontrolled Symptoms on the Health‐Related Quality of Life (EQ‐5D‐5L) of Patients With Allergic Rhinitis: A MASK ‐air Study Clinical & Experimental Allergy 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 6.3 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cea.14516. |
|
| J37 | Embedding patients’ values and preferences in guideline development for allergic diseases: The case study of Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma 2024 Clinical and Translational Allergy 2024 14(6):e12377 · JIF: 4.6 (Q2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/clt2.12377 |
|
| J36 | Relevance of individual bronchial symptoms for asthma diagnosis and control in patients with rhinitis: A MASK‐air study Clinical and Translational Allergy 2024 14(6):e12358 · JIF: 4.6 (Q2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/clt2.12358 |
|
| J35 | Intranasal antihistamines and corticosteroids in allergic rhinitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 11.4 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2024.04.016 |
|
| J34 | Gastrointestinal effects of caffeine in preterm infants: a systematic review and Bayesian meta-analysis Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neonatal Edition 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 3.9 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2024-327075 |
|
| J33 | English tweets on allergy: Content analysis and association with surveillance data Clinical & Experimental Allergy 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 6.3 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cea.14479 |
|
| J31 | Regional, sex, and age inequities in asthma hospital admissions in Spain and Portugal Clinical and Translational Allergy 2024 14(4):e12349 · JIF: 4.6 (Q2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/clt2.12349 |
|
| J32 | Poor Rhinitis and Asthma Control Is Associated With Decreased Health-Related Quality of Life and Utilities: A MASK-air Study The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 8.2 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2024.03.036 |
|
| J30 | Patients’ values and preferences for health states in allergic rhinitis—An artificial intelligence supported systematic review Allergy 2024 NA:NA · JIF: 12.6 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/all.16100 |
|
| J29 | Asthma and rhinitis control in adolescents and young adults: A real‐world MASK‐air study Pediatric Allergy and Immunology 2024 35(2):35:e14080 · JIF: 4.3 (Q2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pai.14080 |
|
| J28 | From MASK-air and SILAM to CATALYSE (Climate Action to Advance HeaLthY Societies in Europe) Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology 2024 34(1):12–19 · JIF: 6.1 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.18176%2Fjiaci.0923 |
|
| 2023 | J27 | Neurodevelopment outcomes in the first 5 years of the life of children with transposition of the great arteries surgically corrected in the neonatal period: systematic review and meta-analysis Cardiology in the Young 2023 33(12):2471–2480 · JIF: 0.9 (Q4) http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s104795112300375x |
| J26 | Intranasal antihistamines and corticosteroids in the treatment of allergic rhinitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol BMJ Open 2023 13(11):e076614 · JIF: 2.4 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076614 |
|
| J25 | MASK-air direct patient data support the ARIA-MeDALL hypothesis on allergic phenotypes Allergy 2023 78(10):2790–2794 · JIF: 12.6 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/all.15842 |
|
| J24 | Detection of subclinical microvascular changes in systemic lupus erythematous using optical coherence tomography angiography: A systematic review and meta-analysis Survey of Ophthalmology 2023 68(6):1115-1128 · JIF: 5.1 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.survophthal.2023.07.008 |
|
| J23 | Global, regional, and national burden of allergic disorders and their risk factors in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 Allergy 2023 78(8):2232–2254 · JIF: 12.6 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fall.15807 |
|
| J22 | Patient-centered digital biomarkers for allergic respiratory diseases and asthma: The ARIA-EAACI approach - ARIA-EAACI Task Force Report Allergy 2023 78(7):1758–1776 · JIF: 12.6 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fall.15740 |
|
| J21 | Burden of disease attributable to risk factors in European countries: a scoping literature review Archives of Public Health 2023 81(1):116 · JIF: 3.2 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1186%2Fs13690-023-01119-x |
|
| J20 | Platelet transfusions in preterm infants: current concepts and controversies - a systematic review and meta-analysis European Journal of Pediatrics 2023 182(8):3433–3443 · JIF: 3.0 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00431-023-05031-y |
|
| J19 | Methodologic lessons from published systematic reviews Eye 2023 37(18):3876 · JIF: 2.8 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41433-023-02599-5 |
|
| J18 | Asthma hospitalizations: A call for a national strategy to fight health inequities Pulmonology 2023 29(3):179–183 · JIF: 10.4 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pulmoe.2022.12.001 |
|
| J17 | Development and validation of an electronic daily control score for asthma (e-DASTHMA): a real-world direct patient data study The Lancet Digital Health 2023 5(4):e227–e238 · JIF: 23.8 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fs2589-7500%2823%2900020-1 |
|
| J16 | Application of optical coherence tomography angiography for microvascular changes in patients treated with hydroxychloroquine: a systematic review and meta-analysis Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology 2023 261(8):2221–2233 · JIF: 2.4 (Q2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00417-023-06023-2 |
|
| J15 | Burden of infectious disease studies in Europe and the United Kingdom: a review of methodological design choices Epidemiology and Infection 2023 151:e19 · JIF: 2.5 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1017%2Fs0950268823000031 |
|
| J14 | Digitally-enabled, patient-centred care in rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity: The ARIA-MASK-air approach Clinical and Translational Allergy 2023 13(1):e12215 · JIF: 4.6 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fclt2.12215 |
|
| 2022 | J13 | Cut-off values of MASK-air Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice 2022 11(4):1281-1289 · JIF: 9.4 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jaip.2022.12.005 |
| J12 | Consistent trajectories of rhinitis control and treatment in 16,177 weeks: The MASK-air longitudinal study Allergy 2022 78(4):968–983 · JIF: 12.4 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/all.15574 |
|
| J11 | Academic Productivity of Young People With Allergic Rhinitis: A MASK-air Study The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice 2022 10(11):3008–3017.e4 · JIF: 9.4 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jaip.2022.08.015 |
|
| J10 | Real-world data using mHealth apps in rhinitis, rhinosinusitis and their multimorbidities Clinical and Translational Allergy 2022 12(11):e12208 · JIF: 4.4 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fclt2.12208 |
|
| J09 | Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test: A systematic review of measurement properties and COSMIN analysis Clinical and Translational Allergy 2022 12(9):e12194 · JIF: 4.4 (Q2) http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/clt2.12194 |
|
| J08 | Usage patterns of oral H1-antihistamines in 10 European countries: A study using MASK-air and Google Trends real-world data World Allergy Organization Journal 2022 15(7):100660 · JIF: 5.1 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.waojou.2022.100660 |
|
| J07 | Comparison of rhinitis treatments using MASK-air data and considering the minimal important difference Allergy 2022 77(10):3002–3014 · JIF: 12.4 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/all.15371 |
|
| J06 | Allergen immunotherapy in MASK-air users in real-life: Results of a Bayesian mixed-effects model Clinical and Translational Allergy 2022 12(3):e12128 · JIF: 4.4 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fclt2.12128 |
|
| J05 | Behavioural patterns in allergic rhinitis medication in Europe: A study using MASK-air real-world data Allergy 2022 77(9):2699–2711 · JIF: 12.4 (Q1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/all.15275 |
|
| 2021 | J04 | Efficacy and safety of intravitreal and periocular injection of corticosteroids in non-infectious uveitis: a systematic review Survey of Ophthalmology 2021 67(4):991-1013 · JIF: 6.2 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.survophthal.2021.12.002 |
| J03 | Efficacy and Safety of Corticosteroid Implants in Non-infectious Uveitis: A Systematic Review with Network Meta-analysis Ocular Immunology and Inflammation 2021 30(1):215–222 · JIF: 3.7 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1080%2F09273948.2020.1787463 |
|
| J02 | Beware of word truncation in PubMed: unexpected problems and potential solutions BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2021 26(1):34-36 · JIF: 5.7 (Q1) https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmjebm-2019-111286 |
|
| 2016 | J01 | Trends in hospital admissions for obstructive lung disease from 2000 to 2010 in Portugal Respiratory Medicine 2016 116:63–69 · JIF: 3.2 (Q2) https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.rmed.2016.05.018 |
Oral presentations
| year | number | citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | O3 | Using real-world and secondary data to estimate the global burden of allergic rhinitis RISE Day: The Societal Impact of Clinical Research, NA |
| O2 | Formular a questão de investigação: pertinência e exequibilidade 28.º Congresso Nacional de Cardiopneumologia, Peniche, Portugal |
|
| 2017 | O1 | Trends in hospital admissions for obstructive lung disease (OLD) in Portugal from 2000 to 2010 IJUP - Encontro de Investigação Jovem da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal |
Poster presentations
| year | number | citation |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | P2 | Platelet transfusions in preterm infants: current concepts and controversies - a systematic review and meta-analysis 23.º Congresso Nacional de Pediatria, Estoril, Portugal |
| 2016 | P1 | Trends in hospital admissions for obstructive lung disease (OLD) in Portugal from 2000 to 2010 X Young European Scientist Meeting, Porto, Portugal Honourable mention |
Software
R packages
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2023 — present | metainc, a package allowing for the quantitative approach to assess inconsistency in the meta-analytical context using decision thresholds |
Shiny apps
| year | what |
|---|---|
| 2023 — present | Indirect Costs of Allergic Rhinitis, an interactive Shiny app allowing for the estimation of indirect costs of allergic rhinitis given user-provided inputs |