Laurel Hansell brings training and expertise as both an applied anthropologist and a public health researcher to her work, with a focus on qualitative research and stakeholder engagement.
In her current role as a collaborative scientist at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), she provides qualitative methodological expertise to a variety of projects and topic areas and contributes to data collection and analysis. She has conducted individual interviews with patients and health care providers on numerous studies, including SUAY (Safer Use of Antipsychotics in Youth), BP-CHECK, and Back on Track. She has also conducted focus groups and member check activities on study such as BP-CHECK and Back In Action.
Laurel joined KPWHRI in 2018 as an implementation and evaluation associate and was promoted to collaborative scientist in 2022, having taken on roles with increasing responsibility using her qualitative research expertise.
Laurel earned a master’s degree in public health with a focus on health services from the University of Washington. She also received a master’s in applied anthropology from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s in anthropology from Southern Illinois University.
In her free time, Laurel enjoys exploring local parks and attending Seattle Storm and Reign sporting events.
Chronic pain and opioids
Hansel L, Hsu C, Munson S, Thompson M, Ehrlich K, Hall Y, Anderson M, Evers S, Marcus-Smith M, McClure J, Green BB. Patient experiences with blood pressure measurement for hypertension diagnosis. Am J Hypertens. 2024 Jul 12:hpae088. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpae088. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Hsu C, Mogk J, Hansell L, Glass JE, Allen C. Rapid Group Analysis Process (Rap-GAP): A novel approach to expedite qualitative health research data analysis. Int J Qual Methods. 2024 May 24. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241256275. PubMed
Hall YN, Anderson ML, McClure JB, Ehrlich K, Hansell LD, Hsu CW, Margolis KL, Munson SA, Thompson MJ, Green BB. Relationship of blood pressure, health behaviors, and new diagnosis and control of hypertension in the BP-CHECK Study. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2024;17(2):e010119. doi: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.123.010119. Epub 2024 Feb 8. PubMed
Ralston JD, Anderson M, Ng J, Bashir A, Ehrlich K, Burns-Hunt D, Cotton M, Hansell L, Hsu C, Hunt H, Karter AJ, Levy SM, Ludman E, Madziwa L, Omura EM, Rogers K, Sevey B, Shaw JAM, Shortreed SM, Singh U, Speight J, Sweeny A, Tschernisch K, Sergei Tschernisch S, Yarborough L. Preventing severe hypoglycemia in adults with type 2 diabetes (PHT2): Design, delivery and evaluation framework for a randomized controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2024 Jan 20;139:107456. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2024.107456. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Green BB, Anderson ML, Ehrlich K, Hall YN, Hansell LD, Hsu C, Margolis KL, McClure JB, Munson S, Thompson MJ. Is hypertension diagnostic testing and diagnosis associated with psychological distress? Am J Hypertens. 2023 Sep 9:hpad083. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpad083. Online ahead of print. PubMed
Home blood pressure monitoring shown to be an excellent alternative for making new diagnoses of hypertension.
Health care is increasingly online—KPWHRI is studying telehealth options for opioid use disorder and chronic pain.