Lawren Bercaw

Lawren Bercaw is a research analyst within RTI’s Center for the Health of Populations. Since 2003, she has conducted research in public and social policy issues, specifically aging in place, disparities and inequities, social determinants of health, and services and supports for older adults. Dr. Bercaw has led numerous policy implementation and program evaluation tasks and teams. Her experience with quantitative research methods includes content analysis, survey design and analysis, and knowledge of National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). Dr. Bercaw’s numerous qualitative research and leadership experiences include conducting more than 1,000 in-person and telephone interviews, leading focus groups, and coordinating technical expert panels with older adults, families, caregivers, physicians, nursing facility staff, and others who support aging populations.

Dr. Bercaw currently leads an exploratory effort to understand the extent to which ACL grantees implement CLAS Standards, the HHS guidelines to ensure programs meet the diverse needs of the individuals and communities they serve. In addition, she serves as co-associate project director for the CMS initiative Implementation Support for the Independence at Home Demonstration, which tests a payment model to support Medicare beneficiaries who receive primary care at home. She is also co-associate project director on the CMS Evaluation of the Initiative to Reduce Hospitalizations Among Nursing Facility Residents: Phase 2, a project focused on improving care quality and reducing Medicare expenditures in nursing facilities. Among her prior experiences, Dr. Bercaw also evaluated a personal care aide training for Massachusetts to facilitate aging in place and explored low-income and diverse older adults’ access to healthy foods and food security. 

Dr. Bercaw joined RTI in 2013. She is a member of the Association for Public Policy and Management, the Gerontological Society of America, and the American Society on Aging. She has published peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals including Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Health Affairs, Journal of Aging and Environment, Journal of Poverty, and Gerontologist.