Sarah Andrea, PhD, MPH
Postdoctoral Scholar, UW Department of Epidemiology

In the United States, over 5 million people work in tipped service occupations. Economic and industry research reveals experiences of poverty and sexual harassment in the tipped workforce but there is a paucity of research on the health of tipped service workers. This study investigates the impact of precarious tipped service work on health among reproductive-aged women and estimates the effects of one potential intervention – increasing the tipped worker sub-minimum wage – on maternal and child health.

Sarah Andrea is a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Epidemiology and a lover of all cats. As a social epidemiologist, Dr. Andrea is interested in identifying strategies to mitigate or interrupt race-, class-, and gender-based inequities in health throughout the life course. Her research sits at the intersection of employment quality and social policy. Dr. Andrea's work examining the associations of tipped and untipped service work with poor mental health was the October 2018 Editor’s Choice selection from the American Journal of Epidemiology and has been featured in various outlets including NPR’s Science Friday.