McGuinn Hall 202
Telephone: 617-552-2934
Email: erika.sabbath@bc.edu
Workplace stress and health, occupational health impacts of organizational and public policy changes, and determinants of health among healthcare providers
Erika L. Sabbath, ScD, is Associate Professor in the Health and Mental Health field of practice. She is a social and occupational epidemiologist studying the contribution of the work environment to population health and disparities. Across multiple funded research studies, she examines the role of public policy changes, organizational policies and practices, and work-related stressors on health and wellbeing of healthcare workers and other helping professionals.
Dr. Sabbath has two major research projects. First, along with Mara Buchbinder (UNC-Chapel Hill), she is principal investigator of the , a series of studies that aim to (1) characterize the personal and professional impacts for obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) of practicing in a post-Dobbs v. Jackson policy context, and (2) develop and disseminate evidence-based recommendations to support OB-GYNs’ professional wellbeing in states with restrictive abortion policy climates. The project has received funding from the Greenwall Foundation (2023-2024) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (, 2024-2027).
Second, since 2016, she has been the principal investigator of the NIOSH-funded , a longitudinal study of over 27,000 nurses and nursing assistants in the Mass General Brigham hospital system. BHWHS is the flagship research project of the , of which Dr. Sabbath is the Co-Director and Multi-PI (along with Glorian Sorensen, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health).
Dr. Sabbath engages doctoral students and other trainees in all her projects and has a strong commitment to mentorship. She encourages students who are interested in collaborating with her to email her at erika.sabbath@bc.edu.
Sabbath, E.L., Arora, K.S., Buchbinder, M. (2024). Supporting OB-GYNs in abortion-restrictive states—A playbook for institutions. JAMA 2024;332(8):613–614.
Sabbath, E.L., McKetchnie, S.M., Arora, K.A., Buchbinder, M. (2024). US Obstetrician-Gynecologists' Perceived Impacts of Post–Dobbs v Jackson State Abortion Bans. JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(1):e2352109.
Sabbath, E.L., Lovejoy, M.C., Schneider, D.K., DeHorn, G., Diaz-Linhart, Y., Peters, S.E. (2024; in press). Engaging low-wage workers in health and wellbeing survey research: Strategies from five occupational studies. American Journal of Public Health.
Buchbinder, M., Arora, K.S., McKetchnie, S.M., Sabbath, E.L. (2024). Drivers of moral distress among obstetrician-gynecologists after Dobbs: A qualitative, multi-state study. SSM-Qualitative Research in Health 6 (December 2024): 100483.
Sabbath, E.L., Willis, M., Wesselink, A., Wang, T., Hatch, E.E., Wise, L.A. (2024). Association between job control and fecundability in a preconception cohort. Fertility and Sterility 2024 Mar;121(3):497-505.
Sabbath, E.L., Pan, Y., McTernan, M.L., Peters, S.E., Lovett, S.M., Stelson, E.A., Wagner, G.R., Hopcia, K., Boden, L.I. (2024). Adding injury to insult: Unfair treatment at work and occupational injury among hospital patient-care workers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine Jul;67(7):667-676.
Stelson, E.A, Sabbath-Clayton, L.L., Berkman, L.F., Kubzansky, L.A., Sorensen, G., Sabbath, E.L. (2022). Worker health and client care in residential addiction treatment: Identifying the role of social context. Social Science & Medicine 2022 Dec:314:115462.
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Mental health and work-related wellbeing of U.S. obstetrician-gynecologists in a shifting policy climate
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R01 OH012664 (2024-2027)
Role: MPI (with Mara Buchbinder)
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Center for Work, Health, and Well-being
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, U19 OH008861 (2021-2026)
Roles: Center Co-Director and MPI (with Glorian Sorensen)
Principal investigator, °¬¿ÉÖ±²¥ Hospital Workers Health Study
MPI, Planning and Evaluation Core
Co-PI, Older Workers Health and Wellbeing Study
Moral distress among obstetrician-gynecologists in the post-Roe era
The Greenwall Foundation (2023-2024)
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