Salma Mohamed Hassan Abdalla, MBBS, MPH, DrPH
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Global Health - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Salma Abdalla, a physician by training, is an adjunct Assistant Professor in Global Health at Boston University School of Public Health. She was the Director of the Rockefeller-Boston University 3-D Commission on Determinants of health, Data science, and Decision making. Her research focuses on how data on the social, economic, and commercial determinants can be used to inform decision-making on population health in different contexts. She also studies the effects of trauma on global population mental health. She has published over 80 scientific journal articles, co-authored 8 reports and policy briefs, and co-authored 9 book chapters.
Other Positions
- Assistant Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health
Education
- Boston University School of Public Health, DPH/DrPH
- University of Khartoum, MBBS
- Boston University School of Public Health, MPH
Websites
Classes Taught
- SPHPH720
Publications
- Published on 3/4/2025
Ettman CK, Abdalla SM, Wang R, Rosenberg SB, Galea S. Generalized anxiety disorder in low-resourced adults: a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort study across the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Mar 04; 194(3):755-765. PMID: 39123097.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/9/2024
Ettman CK, Thornburg B, Abdalla SM, Meiselbach MK, Galea S. Financial assets and mental health over time. Sci Rep. 2024 Nov 09; 14(1):27370. PMID: 39521820.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/7/2024
Abdalla SM, Galea S. Key considerations for the future of mental health epidemiology. Am J Epidemiol. 2024 Oct 07; 193(10):1307-1312. PMID: 38872352.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/5/2024
Rancher C, Moreland AD, Galea S, Davies F, Bottomley J, Abba-Aji M, Abdalla SM, Kilpatrick DG. Awareness and use of support services following mass violence incidents. J Psychiatr Res. 2024 Dec; 180:79-85. PMID: 39383713.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/21/2024
Abdalla SM, Galea S. Reimagining global health scholarship to tackle health inequities. SSM Popul Health. 2024 Dec; 28:101711. PMID: 39512546.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/1/2024
Moreland AD, Rancher C, Davies F, Bottomley J, Galea S, Abba-Aji M, Abdalla SM, Schmidt MG, Vena JE, Kilpatrick DG. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Adults in Communities With Mass Violence Incidents. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Jul 01; 7(7):e2423539. PMID: 39058488.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/19/2024
Even D, Abdalla SM, Maani N, Galea S. News media as a commercial determinant of health. Lancet Glob Health. 2024 Aug; 12(8):e1365-e1369. PMID: 38908393.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/14/2024
Ettman CK, Cohen GH, Abdalla SM, Hatton CR, Castrucci BC, Bork RH, Galea S. Depression and assets during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of mental health across income and savings groups. PLoS One. 2024; 19(6):e0304549. PMID: 38875280.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 6/6/2024
Abdalla SM, Assefa E, Rosenberg SB, Hernandez M, Koya SF, Galea S. Perceptions of the determinants of health across income and urbanicity levels in eight countries. Commun Med (Lond). 2024 Jun 06; 4(1):107. PMID: 38844576.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 5/27/2024
Hatton CR, Ettman CK, Gollust S, Abdalla SM, Galea S. Mental Health and U.S. Attitudes Toward Social Determinants of Health Policies. Am J Prev Med. 2024 Sep; 67(3):350-359. PMID: 38810769.
Read At: PubMed
View 70 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC
News & In the Media
- Published on December 13, 2024
- Published on June 28, 2024
Income, Urbanicity Influence Perceptions of Factors that Shape Health
- Published on June 6, 2024
One-third of US Adults Know Someone Who Has Died from Drug Overdose
- Published on May 31, 2024
About 1 in 3 Americans Have Lost Someone to a Drug Overdose, New Study Finds
- Published on March 30, 2024
Las Vegas Mass Shooting Survivors Continue to Struggle with Major Depression, PTSD
- Published on November 14, 2023
How to Cope with Watching War Unfold, According to Mental Health Experts
- Published on November 3, 2023
Global Study Links Nutrition Insecurity to Increased Mental Health Decline during COVID-19
- Published on August 25, 2023
Researchers Launch Data Repository for Global Social Determinants of Health
- Published on March 9, 2023
- Published on December 28, 2022
If You Can’t Afford the Cost of Therapy, It’s Not Your Fault
- Published on December 8, 2022
Suicidal Thoughts Surged among People Struggling with Finances, Isolation during COVID-19
- Published on November 26, 2022
Inside the New-Age Spiritual Retreats of the Future—and Our Search for Something More
- Published on October 11, 2022
The Flint Water Crisis, Mental Health, and Lessons for Other Disasters
- Published on September 22, 2022
Five Years After Water Crisis, Nearly 1 in 4 Flint Residents Has PTSD
- Published on September 20, 2022
Years after Water Crisis, Flint Residents Reported High Rates of Depression, PTSD
- Published on May 11, 2022
Why So Many Young Adults with Depression Don’t Get Treatment
- Published on May 2, 2022
Survey Finds 4 in 10 American Adults Know Someone Who Died of COVID-19
- Published on April 28, 2022
- Published on March 2, 2022
Having Assets May Protect People from Persistent Depression during COVID
- Published on January 3, 2022
The 2022 New Year Doesn’t Have to Be the Moment You Forget about Your Grief
- Published on December 21, 2021
Why 2021 Felt Worse than 2020, and How to Feel Better in 2022
- Published on November 29, 2021
‘Time Is a Contributor to Stress’: Arkansas Social Worker Says Holidays Can Bring Anxiety
- Published on November 23, 2021
- Published on November 4, 2021
Burned Out, Overworked or Depressed? Pope Francis Is Praying for You.
- Published on October 4, 2021
Depression Rates Tripled and Symptoms Intensified during First Year of COVID
- Published on September 27, 2021
- Published on September 21, 2021
- Published on September 17, 2021
Research Fellow Advised WHO’s Independent Panel on Global COVID-19 Response
- Published on August 10, 2021
- Published on June 29, 2021
Anxiety on Returning to Offices Has Employers Evaluating Mental Health and Wellness Benefits
- Published on June 28, 2021
How to Be Cheerful With Customers When You’re Not Feeling Positive Yourself
- Published on June 21, 2021
Being More Social for Just 2 Weeks Made Me Happier. Here’s Why
- Published on June 11, 2021
- Published on May 14, 2021
Peloton Instructor Kendall Toole Considers Her Mental Health Diagnosis Part of Her Power
- Published on May 11, 2021
The COVID Pandemic Is Highlighting Men’s Mental Health and How They Can Seek Help
- Published on March 23, 2021
- Published on March 9, 2021
Why I Stopped Running during the Pandemic (and How I Started Again)
- Published on February 24, 2021
Why COVID-19 Is Driving up the Cost of Healthcare in Retirement and What You Can Do Now to Prepare
- Published on February 16, 2021
University of Iowa Health Experts Worry about Psychological Effects of the Pandemic
- Published on February 9, 2021
- Published on February 4, 2021
How Advisers Can Support Employees Facing Serious Health Issues
- Published on February 4, 2021
Researchers Contribute to Surgeon General’s Report on Social Determinants
- Published on February 3, 2021
Evaluating COVID-19’s Behavioral Health Impact on the Economy
- Published on January 25, 2021
Mayo Clinic Weighs in on Mental Health Struggles during Pandemic
- Published on January 5, 2021
- Published on December 15, 2020
Pandemic-Related Depression Is Rampant—Here’s How to Make Yourself Feel Better, According to Experts
- Published on December 11, 2020
- Published on December 11, 2020
- Published on December 10, 2020
Therapists Predict How the Holidays Will Affect Our Mental Health
- Published on December 7, 2020
Superintendent’s Notebook: Winter and the Pandemic – Hit ‘Em Head On
- Published on December 2, 2020
‘Tired of Being Sad.’ The Financial Stress From COVID Is Taking an Emotional Toll
- Published on December 2, 2020
‘Tired of Being Sad.’ The Financial Stress From COVID Is Taking an Emotional Toll
- Published on December 2, 2020
- Published on November 25, 2020
- Published on November 25, 2020
- Published on November 25, 2020
- Published on October 28, 2020
For Cardiovascular Disease, It’s the 20 Percent vs the 80 Percent
- Published on September 16, 2020
Amid the Pandemic and Our Reckoning With Race Is An Emerging Mental Health Crisis
- Published on September 16, 2020
- Published on September 10, 2020
Depression Symptoms Rising Among Adults Amid Pandemic, Study Shows
- Published on September 8, 2020
Older Women Account for Highest Rates of Rising Antidepressant Use: CDC
- Published on September 4, 2020
The Pandemic Is Taking a Heavy Toll on Our Mental Health, Study Finds
- Published on September 3, 2020
- Published on September 2, 2020
- Published on June 25, 2020
Deep Racial and Socioeconomic Divides Are Shaping the Events of 2020
- Published on April 17, 2020
- Published on March 24, 2020
3-D Commission: How Data Science Could Revolutionize Population Health
- Published on March 10, 2020
- Published on October 31, 2019
- Published on November 20, 2018
- Published on December 17, 2017
- Published on September 24, 2017
- Published on April 9, 2017
- Published on February 12, 2017
- Published on April 28, 2016
Student Leads International Medical Association General Assembly