Erin Sullivan, PhD

Biography

Professor Sullivan is a scientific storyteller in a discipline dominated by quantitative measures. She illuminates quantitative findings with rigorous thematic, inductive and deductive analyses of the stories of the human beings who comprise small and large datasets, thus providing texture and meaning to the numbers that healthcare and medicine favor but which fail to provide the context for the findings.

Professor Sullivan conducts research that raises the status and importance of primary care in the U.S. health system, focusing on understanding the mechanisms that support excellent and sustainable primary care practice in the U.S. Her applied research bridges management principles and primary care in ways that strive to improve the efficacy of care delivery and performance of primary care practices. In the last five years, she has conducted primary care focused research related to three critically important topics:  1) burnout mechanisms, reduction and elimination; 2) the lessons from the devastating impact of COVID-19 on healthcare providers, and 3) the role of physician leadership in more effectively guiding healthcare systems. Professor Sullivan’s research is published in top journals such as Health Care Management Review, the Journal of Healthcare Management, the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, and the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery. 

Professor Sullivan teaches leadership and organizational change as well as the capstone course to students in the Master of Healthcare Administration program. She has extensive experience in the areas of case-based teaching and experiential learning. In addition to her teaching and research, Professor Sullivan serves on the editorial boards of the Case Research Journal and the Journal of Healthcare Administration Education.

Professional Activities

Journal Editorship

• Editor, Case Research Journal, Special Issue on Health Care (2020).

Editorial/Advisory Review Board

• Editorial Board Member, Journal of Healthcare Administration, 2023-present
• Editorial Board Member, Case Research Journal, 2020-present
• External Examiner, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, 2019-present

Publications

Recent Intellectual Contributions

Refereed Journal Articles

Linzer, M., O’Brien, E. C., Sullivan, E., Rathert, C., Simmons, D. R., Johnson, D. H., McKinney, W. T., Mallick, S., Porta, C. M., Poplau, S., Wambua, M., Bosquet, A., Farley, H., Montori, V. M., & Goelz, E. Burnout in modern-day healthcare: Where are we, and how can we markedly reduce it? A meta-narrative review from the EUREKA Project. Health Care Management Review, 50(2), 57–66.

Sullivan, E.E., Stephenson, A.L., DePuccio, M.J., Anderson, B., Auxier, W., Henderson, J., & Linzer, M. (2025). Workplace factors related to health care leader well-being in rural settings. The Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), 41(1), e12863.

Al-Amin, M., Sullivan, E.E. & Szalay, N. (2024). An exploratory study of dynamic capabilities and performance improvement in hospitals. Journal of Healthcare Management, 69(5), 335–349.

Young, E., Vatkin, G., Kur, J., & Sullivan, E.E. (2024). Team-based care in specialist practice: A path to improved physician and patient experience in British Columbia. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 1000.

Hajjar, L., Sullivan, E.E., Maurer, M., & Yang, J. (2024). Lessons for tomorrow: The role of relationships and mindfulness in sustaining services during a crisis. Health Care Management Review, 49(3), 176–185. 

Sullivan, E.E., Etz, R., Gonzalez, M., Deubel, J., Reves, S.R., Stange, K.C., Hughes, L.S., & Linzer, M. (2024). You cannot function in “overwhelm”: Helping primary care navigate the slow end of the pandemic. Journal of Healthcare Management, 69(3), 190–204.

Stillman, M., Sullivan, E.E., Prasad, K., Deubel, J., Jin, J., Linzer, M., Brown, R., Nankivil, N., & Sinsky, C. (2024). Understanding what leaders can do to facilitate healthcare workers’ feeling valued: improving our knowledge of the strongest burnout mitigator. BMJ Leader, 8(4), 329–334.

Sullivan, E.E., DePuccio, M.J., Stephenson, A.L., Raj, M., Lai, A., Tietschert, M.V., Fleuren, B.P., Sriharan, A., Thomas, S.C., & McAlearney, A.S. (2023). Building student competencies to address healthcare’s grand challenges: Lessons from an international collaboration. Journal of Healthcare Administration Education, 39(4), 615-630.

Sullivan, Erin & Etz, Rebecca & Gonzalez, Martha & Reves, Sarah & Deubel, Jordyn & Stange, Kurt & Green, Larry & Bitton, Asaf & Griffiths, Elizabeth & Sinsky, Christine & Linzer, Mark. (2023). Primary Care in Peril: How Clinicians View the Problems and Solutions. NEJM Catalyst. 4.10.1056/CAT.23.0029.

Sullivan, E.E., Stephenson, A.L., & Hoffman, A.R. (2022). Engaging physicians in leadership: motivations, challenges, and identity-based considerations. Journal of Healthcare Management, 67(4) 254-265.

DePuccio, M.J., Sullivan, E.E., Breton, M., McKinstry, D., Gaughan, A., & McAlearney, A.S. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on primary care teamwork: a qualitative study in two states. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37, 2003-2008. 

Matsas, B., Goralnick, E., Bass, M., Barnett, E., Nagle, B., & Sullivan, E. (2022). Leadership development in U.S. undergraduate medical education: a scoping review of curricular content and competency frameworks. Academic Medicine, 97(6) 899-908.

Sullivan, E. E., Breton, M., McKinstry, D., & Phillips, R. S. (2022). COVID-19’s perceived impact on primary care in New England: a qualitative study. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 35(2), 265–273.

Arabadjis, S. D., & Sullivan, E. (2021). Data and HIT systems in Primary Care Settings: An analysis of perceptions and use. Journal of Health Organization and Management 35(4).

Jack, H. E., Arabadjis, S. D., Sun, L., Sullivan, E. E., & Phillips, R. S. (2017). Impact of Community Health Workers on Use of Healthcare Services in the United States: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 32(3), 325–344.

Sullivan, E. E., Ibrahim, Z., Ellner, A. L., & Giesen, L. J. (2016). Management Lessons for High-Functioning Primary Care Teams. Journal of Healthcare Management, 61(6), 449–465.

Teaching Cases

Hughes, L.S., Susa, J., Sullivan, E.E. & Anderson, B. (2023). Leading Through a Revenue Cycle Crisis in a Critical Access Hospital. Harvard Medical School: Primary Care Systems Case Collection.

Hughes, L.S., Sullivan, E.E. & Anderson, B. (2022). Navigating Vaccination Challenges in a Rural Community. Harvard Medical School: Primary Care Systems Case Collection.

Sullivan, E.E., Hughes, L.S., & Anderson, B. (2021). The Burnout of a Rural Doctor. Harvard Medical School: Primary Care Systems Case Collection.

Others

Sullivan, E.E., Anderson, B., & Deutchman, M. (2024). Rural Maternity Innovation Summit: Site Report. Rural Health Information Hub.

Raj M., Stephenson A.L., DePuccio M., Sullivan E.E., Traver W., Fleuren B., Thomas S., & McAlearney A. (2023). Conceptual framework for integrating family caregivers into the health care team: a scoping review. Medical Care Research and Review, 80(2), 131–144.

Fleuren B., Stephenson A.L., Sullivan E.E., Raj M., Tietschert, M., Sriharan A., Lai A.Y., DePuccio M.J., Thomas, S.C., & McAlearney A.S. (2021) Even Superheroes Need Rest: A Guide to Facilitating Recovery from Work for Health-care Workers during COVID-19 and beyond. Advances in Healthcare Management, 20, 273-282.

Honors and Recognitions

• The David Meyers Research Award (2023) (Awarded by the Primary Care Collaborative)
• Sawyer Business School Dean’s Research Award (2023)
• Academy of Management Reviewer Award (2022)

Intellectual Contributions

• Erin Sullivan's Intellectual Contributions [PDF]