Dr. Catherine “Katie” Cohen is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. A nurse and health services researcher, her work advances healthcare quality through research and policy. Cohen's research interests focus on the prevention of healthcare-associated infections, particularly those with antibiotic resistance, and improvements in post-acute and end of life care, especially among older adults. At RAND, she has also engaged in projects to develop innovative approaches to payments for physician practice expenses, evaluate access to care in rural hospitals as a result of state reimbursement policies and nursing scope of practice, improve opioid and alcohol abuse disorder treatment for those with comorbid mental health disorders, and support diabetes prevention and treatment in the workplace. Funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, she is co-leading research to understand businesses' motivations to invest in community health and economic wellbeing in order to help non-profits and policymakers promote a culture of health. She completed post-doctoral training in comparative and cost-effectiveness methodology at Columbia University School of Nursing's Center for Health Policy. She earned her B.A. in economics and biology from Swarthmore College and completed her B.S. and Ph.D. at Columbia University School of Nursing where she was a recipient of a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, and the Dissertation Excellence Award.
She is a 2019 grantee of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Understanding and Supporting Anchor Businesses to Build a Culture of Health program, managed by AcademyHealth.