Timothy H. Callaghan, PhD
Associate Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Health Law, Policy & Management

PhD, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities
MA, University of Minnesota at Twin Cities
BA, University of Connecticut
BS, University of Connecticut



Timothy Callaghan is an Associate Professor of health policy and politics in the Department of Health Law, Policy, and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. His research focuses on how politics, policy, and place work together to influence health in America. He has conducted extensive research on individual health attitudes and behaviors, with a particular emphasis on understanding and overcoming vaccine hesitancy. He has also carried out considerable research studying public experiences with Medicaid, substance abuse, and the 988 mental health lifeline. Dr. Callaghan also regularly studies health access and outcomes for vulnerable populations, with a particular emphasis on studying rural health.

Dr. Callaghan is the Co-Director of The Politics and Health Lab at Boston University. He also previously served as Chair of the Health Politics and Policy Section of the American Political Science Association. Dr. Callaghan has won several awards in his field including the David Kline Jones Distinguished Scholar Award, the Atlas Award for his research on vaccine hesitancy, the Leonard S. Robins Award for his research on public attitudes about the opioid epidemic, the Deil S. Wright award for his research on federalism and the Affordable Care Act, and the Journal of Rural Health Article of the Year Award for his work on COVID-19 in rural areas.


Assessing the Effectiveness of Common Health Messaging Tactics on Self-Reported and Validated Vaccine Uptake: A Multi-Method Approach.
09/01/2023 - 08/31/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Timothy H. Callaghan, PhD
National Science Foundation
SES-2318512

Evaluating Teen-Parent Dynamics in Adolescent COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Uptake
08/15/2022 - 04/30/2024 (Subcontract PI)
University of San Francisco Inc NIH NICHD
1R21HD109536-01

Drivers of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.
09/01/2022 - 12/31/2023 (Subcontract PI)
Sam Houston State University Texas A&M University




Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Website       Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

  1. Callaghan T, Motta M. Runaway Polarization Is Making Us Sick; Social Science Could Offer an Antidote. J Health Polit Policy Law. 2025 Dec 01; 50(6):1105-1125.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40538329; DOI: 10.1215/03616878-11995120;
     
  2. Motta M, Lunz Trujillo K, Stecula D, Callaghan T, Ophir Y, Walter D. Public Risk Perceptions and Policy Attitudes Toward Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). J Health Polit Policy Law. 2025 Nov 19. PMID: 41254833; DOI: 10.1215/03616878-12317977;
     
  3. Regan AK, Couture MC, Callaghan T, Agnew B, Baker J, Arah OA. Application of the actor-partner interdependence model to understand COVID-19 vaccine decision-making among US adolescents and their parents. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Nov 04; 194(11):3364-3372. PMID: 40730825; PMCID: PMC12634106; DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwaf151;
     
  4. Crudo Blackburn C, Callaghan T. U.S. Public Opinion About Immigration Enforcement in Sensitive Locations. J Immigr Minor Health. 2025 Sep 01. PMID: 40888989; DOI: 10.1007/s10903-025-01772-0;
     
  5. Nuzhath T, Khobragade N, Regan AK, Pinkney JA, Wise L, Callaghan T. Pregnant women's perceptions of RSVpreF vaccine and Nirsevimab for infant RSV prevention. Vaccine. 2025 Aug 30; 62:127590.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40782461; DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127590;
     
  6. Callaghan T, Wise LA, Regan AK. Intention to Use RSVpreF Vaccine or Nirsevimab to Prevent Infant RSV Among Pregnant Individuals. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2025 Nov 01; 44(11):1126-1133.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40472256; DOI: 10.1097/INF.0000000000004889;
     
  7. Motta M, Callaghan T, Ross JC, Gargano L, Yokum D. Promoting RSV vaccine confidence through reversal narrative (RN) messaging. Vaccine. 2025 May 22; 56:127178.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40311215
     
  8. Blackburn CC, Abdullahi LH, Callaghan T, Colwell B, Nuzhath T, Hernandez J. Examining COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Nairobi, Kenya, Using the Modified 5 Cs Model. Health Secur. 2025; 23(2):102-109. PMID: 40026131; DOI: 10.1089/hs.2024.0049;
     
  9. Motta M, Callaghan T, Padmanabhan M, Ross JC, Gargano LM, Bowman S, Yokum D. Identifying and mitigating the public health consequences of meta-ignorance about "Long COVID" risks. Public Health. 2025 Apr; 241:19-23.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39938278
     
  10. Agnew B, Couture MC, Uwimana H, Callaghan T, Olsanksa EJ, Arah OA, Baker J, Regan AK. Global Systematic Scoping Review of Adolescent Factors Associated With COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy. J Adolesc Health. 2025 Apr; 76(4):542-557. PMID: 39891620; PMCID: PMC11930606; DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.10.027;
     
Showing 10 of 121 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 116 publications over 13 distinct years, with a maximum of 27 publications in 2021

YearPublications
20131
20142
20151
20162
20173
20186
201914
20208
202127
202214
202315
202410
202513

2024 Boston University : TEACH Award
2023 American Political Science Association: David Kline Jones Distinguished Scholar Award
2022 Journal of Rural Health: Article of the Year
2020 American Political Science Association: Deil S. Wright Best Paper Award Winner
2020 Journal of Rural Health: Exceptional Reviewer
2019 American Political Science Association: Leonard S. Robins Award Winner
2019 Alpha Tau Chapter, Delta Omega, National Public Health Honor Society: Faculty Inductee
2018 Elsevier: Atlas Award Winner
2010-2011 Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress: Presidential Fellow
In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

Vaccines
Rural Communities
Policy, Health
Survey Methods
Public Policy
Public Health
Contact for Mentoring:

715 Albany St
Boston MA 02118
Google Map


Callaghan's Networks
Click the "See All" links for more information and interactive visualizations
Concepts
_
Media Mentions
_
Co-Authors
_
Similar People
_
Same Department