Policy Researcher, RAND; Professor of Policy Analysis, RAND School of Public Policy
She/Her
Claire E. O’Hanlon is a policy researcher at RAND and co-director of the RAND Evidence-Based Practice Center. She is also an affiliated research scientist at the Veterans Affairs Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation & Policy, and a visiting scientist at Cedars-Sinai Health System.
O’Hanlon is a health services and policy researcher experienced in applied qualitative and mixed methods. Her research interests include quality measurement and quality improvement for patients with serious and chronic conditions, especially improving diagnosis processes. She has deep experience in evidence synthesis and systematic review methods. She has also led the development of survey instruments, focus group and interview protocols, and data extraction procedures for document review; conducted thematic and content analysis of qualitative data; designed agendas and synthesized discussions from stakeholder workshops, panels, and convenings; and developed conceptual and logic models for policy and program implementation and evaluation.
O’Hanlon holds a doctorate in policy analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy, a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School, a certificate in Health Administration and Policy from the University of Chicago, and a B.S. in engineering from Harvey Mudd College. She is a 2025-2026 National Academy of Medicine Scholar in Diagnostic Excellence and was a 2018-2019 AcademyHealth Delivery Systems Science Fellow. She received a RAND Silver Medal Award for her contributions to culture and strategy.
Ph.D. in policy analysis, RAND School of Public Policy; M.P.P., University of Chicago; B.S. in engineering, Harvey Mudd College
