Laurel D. Hansell, MA, MPH
“My work focuses on understanding the perspectives and experiences of diverse groups and stakeholders and amplifying the patient voice.”
Laurel D. Hansell, MA, MPH
Collaborative Scientist, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Biography
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.
Areas of research focus
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Medication Use & Patient Safety
Chronic pain and opioids
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Chronic illness management
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Complementary & Integrative Health
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Obesity
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Dissemination & implementation research
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Community pharmacy
Recent Publications
Hansell LD, Hsu CW, Mogk JM, Paz SR, Moore DD, Macias MM, Bhakta BB, Crawford CL, Ellis D, Lopez C, Jackson T, Graves R, Corralejo V, Gray MF, Young DR, Drewnowski A, Lewis KH, Murali SB, Coleman KJ. Experiences and perspectives of racially diverse patients 5 years post-bariatric surgery: Qualitative findings from the BELONG II Study. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025 Oct 16:10.1007/s40615-025-02635-y. doi: 10.1007/s40615-025-02635-y [Epub ahead of print] PubMed
Green BB, Hansell LD, Hsu CW, Jones T, Luce C, Ralston JD, Munson SA, Davis B, Wright T, Anderson ML. Evaluation of an email blood pressure measurement outreach program. Am J Hypertens. 2025 Oct 15:hpaf206. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpaf206 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed
Louie T, Snidarich M, Hippe DS, Wernli KJ, Palazzo L, Hansell L, Brown M, Coronado GD, Lodhi S, Leone R, DeCell K, Mardesich K, Wysham N, Triplette M. A pragmatic pre-post intervention trial to address adherence to lung cancer screening follow-up in community settings (the ACCELL trial): Study protocol. Contemp Clin Trials. 2025 Oct 10;159:108106. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2025.108106 [Epub ahead of print] PubMed
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
Healthy findings blog
Accelerating qualitative research with Rap-GAP
Clarissa Hsu and Jess Mogk share a new way to fast-track insights from qualitative data.
Research
Is blood pressure reading better at home or clinic?
Home blood pressure monitoring shown to be an excellent alternative for making new diagnoses of hypertension.
Research
HEAL responds to double crisis: Opioids and COVID-19
Health care is increasingly online—KPWHRI is studying telehealth options for opioid use disorder and chronic pain.
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