Erica Oberg, ND, MPH

Education

• BA in anthropology from University of Colorado in 1995
• ND from Bastyr University in 2003
• Residency at Bastyr Center for Natural Health (Council on Naturopathic Medical Education-accredited) in 2004
• Master of Public Health from the University of Washington in 2007

Current Roles

Clinical research assistant professor, Bastyr University Research Institute

Current Research

Post-docs and students working with Dr. Oberg have the opportunity to learn to use clinical informatics to investigate characteristics of routine naturopathic care delivery for chronic disease and other conditions. Results of this research are being applied to quality-improvement initiatives related to patient-centered care, guideline adherence and preventive services delivery.  

As co-director of the Naturopathic Physician's Research Network — Dr. Oberg is developing web-based infrastructure to collect outcomes from both academic and private naturopathic clinics. Clinical outcomes can include biomarkers, validated symptom scores and quality-of-life measures. Students and post-docs may have opportunities to add novel outcomes measures or to analyze existing data.

Dr. Oberg is also principal investigator of a survey of NDs and ND students regarding personal health behaviors and delivery of preventive care that includes detailed nutritional data (food frequency questionnaires), which will provide insight into the translation of the naturopathic principle of "Docere" into evidence-based practice.  

Finally, Dr. Oberg conducts qualitative research. She has recently completed a needs assessment of the aging and elderly population of Puget Sound who use naturopathic medicine and a second study related to the experience of patients with diabetes.

Research Interests

Dr. Oberg's research interests and expertise relate to nutrition, physical activity and stress reduction (health promotion) for the prevention of chronic disease. By conducting translational research, she aims to increase the frequency and effectiveness of health promotion and chronic disease prevention delivered in primary care and integrative medicine settings.

Naturopathic medicine is a model laboratory for the delivery of clinical health promotion. Research methodologies she uses to accomplish this include whole systems/whole practice trials; qualitative research; prospective outcomes research including measurement of patient-reported outcomes and biomarkers; epidemiological/health services studies in large datasets such as claims and practice management data; and the use of health IT and electronic medical records (EMRs) to improve clinical prevention and health promotion. 

Dr. Oberg is also an activist and advocate for improving health care as a whole through translating research evidence into policy.