Abi Sriharan

Assistant Professor

Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation

Abi Sriharan, D.Phil., MSc, PCC is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of health workforce and leadership wellness. She currently serves as the program director of the master’s in systems leadership and innovation at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation. Before joining the University of Toronto, she held senior leadership roles at medical schools and hospitals in Canada and the US and served as a consultant for multinational organizations such as the World Health Organization, the World Federation of Neurology, and the Middle East Hearing Association.

Professor Sriharan’s research focuses on how control systems and human factors contribute to organizational culture and health workforce performance. Her current research explores two broad questions: How can organizations prevent burnout, promote wellness, and support their workforce performance under crisis situations? How do individuals find meaning in their work and achieve their fullest potential as leaders during a crisis such as a pandemic?

Dr. Sriharan’s teaching focuses on behavioural strategy and leading transformational change. She has provided training and/or consulting services to executives in over twenty countries globally, related to health workforce recruitment, advancement, and retention as well as effective governance and workforce wellness. As a professional leadership coach, she is extensively involved in coaching physicians and high-performing women leaders.

Dr. Sriharan received her MSc with a concentration in health care and D.Phil. from the University of Oxford and her BSc in health studies and human biology from the University of Toronto. She received her coaching training from the Weatherhead School of Business at the Case Western University. She received advanced leadership training from the Harvard University and Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.

Pandemic Related Publications

Sriharan, A., Ratnapalan, S., Tricco, A. C., & Lupea, D. (2021). Women in healthcare experiencing occupational stress and burnout during COVID-19: a rapid review. BMJ Open, 11(4), e048861.

Sriharan, A., Ratnapalan, S., Tricco, A., Lupea, D., Ayala, A. P., Pang, H., & Lee, D. D. (2020). Occupational Stress, Burnout and Depression in Women in Healthcare during COVID-19 Pandemic: a rapid scoping review. Frontiers in Global Women's Health, 1, 20.

Raj M, DePuccio MJ, Stephenson AL, Sullivan E, Lai AY, Fleuren B, Sriharan A, McAlearney AS, Thomas SC. (2021). Addressing evolving patient concerns around telehealth in the COVID-19 era. The American journal of managed care, 27(1), e1-e3.

Sriharan, A., West, K. J., Almost, J., & Hamza, A. (2021). COVID-19-Related Occupational Burnout and Moral Distress among Nurses: A Rapid Scoping Review. Nursing Leadership (Toronto, Ont.), 34(1), 7-19.

Sriharan, A., Ratnapalan, S., Lupea, D., & Tricco, A. (2020). 179 Healthcare superheroes need rescue during pandemics.