Moral Distress and Burnout Among OB-GYNs After Dobbs

Since the US Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson, 17 U.S. states have functionally banned abortion, creating clinical and ethical challenges for physicians practicing in these jurisdictions. In this presentation, Dr. Buchbinder will present findings from her qualitative research with obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) providing care in states with abortion bans. Findings reveal pervasive impacts of state abortion bans on OB-GYNs—including moral distress, conflicts with clinical colleagues, health and wellbeing consequences, and reduced job satisfaction—with implications for physician health, workforce sustainability, and patient outcomes. Institutional practices to support and protect OB-GYNs in restrictive policy environments may help to mitigate the impacts of abortion bans on physicians’ wellbeing.

Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:

• Understand how abortion laws and policies are impacting the ability to provide comprehensive reproductive health care.
• Describe ethical challenges that abortion bans raise for physicians.
• Identify tangible solutions for supporting and improving professional wellbeing among clinicians engaged in reproductive healthcare.

This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics, and co-sponsored by the following U of MN Units: Program in Health Disparities Research, Medical School; Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, College of Liberal Arts; Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC); Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, College of Liberal Arts; Center for the Study of Political Psychology, College of Liberal Arts; Masonic Cancer Center (MCC); Minnesota Population Center; Healthy Weight Research Center; Rural Health Research Center; Business Advancement Center for Health (BACH), Carlson School of Management, College of Pharmacy; Medical School; School of Public Health; School of Nursing.

Participants are eligible to receive a Certificate of Attendance to submit to their respective professions for CEUs. Certificates of Attendance are available only to webinar attendees who are present for 75% or more of the talk.

Health professions students are eligible for IPE credit. IPE credit is available only to webinar attendees who are present for 75% or more of the talk and complete a written reflection form.

This talk will be recorded and posted with our other event recordings.

Speaker(s)

Mara Buchbinder, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Social Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as core faculty in the University of North Carolina Center for Bioethics. Dr. Buchbinder is a medical anthropologist with broad interests in cultures of health, illness, and medicine in the United States. Her recent work focuses on how patients, families, and healthcare providers navigate social and ethical challenges resulting from changes in medical technology, law, and health policy.