Priya Gandhi

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND; Ph.D. Candidate, Pardee RAND Graduate School

Santa Monica Office

Education

M.S. in health care policy and management, Carnegie Mellon University; B.S. in policy and management, Carnegie Mellon University; Certificate in public health, Johns Hopkins University

One Page Bio

Overview

Priya Samir Gandhi (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Community-Partnered Policy and Action stream at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research interests include health and racial equity, the social determinants of health, health care access and quality, public health preparedness, and community resilience.

Prior to joining Pardee RAND, she was a research associate at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in its Research, Evaluation, and Learning unit. In that role, she developed and managed research initiatives to investigate how a breadth of policies, practices, and programs could help improve population health and well-being. She has an M.S. in health care policy and management and a B.S. in policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University, where she served as a Charpie Scholar, as well as a training certificate in public health from Johns Hopkins University.

Research Focus

Publications

Report
The U.S. Equity-First Vaccination Initiative: Early Insights
The Equity-First Vaccination Initiative aims to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in U.S. coronavirus vaccination rates. Five demonstration sites are using hyper-local, community-led strategies to increase vaccine confidence and access.
Jan 28, 2022
Research Brief
Early Insights from the Equity-First Vaccination Initiative
The Equity-First Vaccination Initiative aims to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates in the United States. Five demonstration sites are using hyper-local, community-led strategies to increase vaccine confidence and access.
Dec 20, 2021
Report
Addressing Anti-Asian Racism in the Era of COVID-19: Next Steps for a Research Agenda
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian Americans have faced a wave of anti-Asian racism and hate incidents. The authors assess knowledge gaps around such racism and associated acts of violence and propose possible solutions to address it.
Nov 30, 2021
Research Brief
Black Americans Cite Low Vaccine Confidence, Mistrust, and Limited Access as Barriers to COVID-19 Vaccination
To identify approaches to increase vaccine confidence and uptake among Black Americans, RAND Corporation researchers conducted a national survey with 207 Black participants in November 2020.
Aug 6, 2021
Journal Article
Vaccine Confidence And Black Communities: Where Do We Go From Here? Town Hall Recap
This event, "Vaccine Confidence and Black Communities: Where do we go from here?", aimed to share lessons learned about COVID-19 vaccine messaging and access in order to reduce inequities.
Jul 2, 2021
Journal Article
COVID-19 Vaccine Intentions and Mistrust in a National Sample of Black Americans
High mistrust among Black Americans around COVID-19 vaccines may lower vaccine confidence.
Jul 2, 2021
Report
What Contributes to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Black Communities, and How Can It Be Addressed?
Recent polls show that Black Americans are less willing than Americans of other races or ethnicities to be vaccinated for COVID-19. RAND researchers surveyed Black Americans to better understand the drivers of such hesitancy.
Mar 1, 2021