Timothy Callaghan
Profiles

Timothy Callaghan, PhD

Associate Professor, Health Law, Policy & Management - Boston University School of Public Health

617-358-2256
timcal@bu.edu
Talbot (T Bldg)
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Biography

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.

Education

  • University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, PhD Field of Study: Political Science
  • University of Minnesota at Twin Cities, MA Field of Study: Political Science
  • University of Connecticut, BA Field of Study: Political Science/Molecular Biology
  • University of Connecticut, BS Field of Study: Biological Sciences

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHPH719
  • SPHPM840
  • SPHPM931

Publications

  • Published on 12/1/2025

    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. PMID: 40538329.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 9/1/2025

    Crudo Blackburn C, Callaghan T. U.S. Public Opinion About Immigration Enforcement in Sensitive Locations. J Immigr Minor Health. 2025 Sep 01. PMID: 40888989.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/8/2025

    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. PMID: 40782461.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 7/30/2025

    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 U.S. Adolescents and their Parents. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Jul 30. PMID: 40730825.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 6/3/2025

    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. PMID: 40472256.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/30/2025

    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. PMID: 40311215.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/3/2025

    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.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 2/11/2025

    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. PMID: 39938278.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/30/2025

    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.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/20/2025

    Mede NG, Cologna V, Berger S, Besley J, Brick C, Joubert M, Maibach EW, Mihelj S, Oreskes N, Schäfer MS, van der Linden S, Abdul Aziz NI, Abdulsalam S, Shamsi NA, Aczel B, Adinugroho I, Alabrese E, Aldoh A, Alfano M, Ali IM, Alsobay M, Altenmüller M, Alvarez RM, Amoako R, Amollo T, Ansah P, Apriliawati D, Azevedo F, Bajrami A, Bardhan R, Bati K, Bertsou E, Betsch C, Bhatiya AY, Bhui R, Bialobrzeska O, Bilewicz M, Bouguettaya A, Breeden K, Bret A, Buchel O, Cabrera-Álvarez P, Cagnoli F, Valdez AC, Callaghan T, Cases RK, Çoksan S, Czarnek G, De Peuter S, Debnath R, Delouvée S, Di Stefano L, Díaz-Catalán C, Doell KC, Dohle S, Douglas KM, Dries C, Dubrov D, Dziminska M, Ecker UKH, Elbaek CT, Elsherif M, Enke B, Etienne TW, Facciani M, Fage-Butler A, Faisal MZ, Fan X, Farhart C, Feldhaus C, Ferreira M, Feuerriegel S, Fischer H, Freundt J, Friese M, Fuglsang S, Gallyamova A, Garrido-Vásquez P, Garrido Vásquez ME, Gatua W, Genschow O, Ghasemi O, Gkinopoulos T, Gloor JL, Goddard E, Gollwitzer M, González-Brambila C, Gordon H, Grigoryev D, Grimshaw GM, Guenther L, Haarstad H, Harari D, Hawkins LN, Hensel P, Hernández-Mondragón AC, Herziger A, Huang G, Huff M, Hurley M, Ibadildin N, Ishibashi M, Islam MT, Jeddi Y, Jin T, Jones CA, Jungkunz S, Jurgiel D, Kabdulkair Z, Kao JJ, Kavassalis S, Kerr JR, Kitsa M, Klabíková Rábová T, Klein O, Koh H, Koivula A, Kojan L, Komyaginskaya E, König L, Koppel L, Cavalcante KKN, Kosachenko A, Kotcher J, Kranz LS, Krishnan P, Kristiansen S, Krouwel A, Kuppens T, Kyza EA, Lamm C, Lantian A, Lazic A, Lecuona O, Légal JB, Leviston Z, Levy N, Lindkvist AM, Lits G, Löschel A, López-Ortega A, Lopez-Villavicencio C, Lou NM, Lucas CH, Lunz-Trujillo K, Marques MD, Mayer SJ, McKay R, Mercier H, Metag J, Milfont TL, Miller JM, Mitkidis P, Monge-Rodríguez F, Motta M, Mudra I, Muršic Z, Namutebi J, Newman EJ, Nitschke JP, Ntui NV, Nwogwugwu D, Ostermann T, Otterbring T, Palmer-Hague J, Pantazi M, Pärnamets P, Parra Saiani P, Paruzel-Czachura M, Parzuchowski M, Pavlov YG, Pearson AR, Penner MA, Pennington CR, Petkanopoulou K, Petrovic MM, Pfänder J, Pisareva D, Ploszaj A, Poliaková K, Pronizius E, Pypno-Blajda K, Quiñones DMA, Räsänen P, Rauchfleisch A, Rebitschek FG, Refojo Seronero C, Rêgo G, Reynolds JP, Roche J, Rödder S, Röer JP, Ross RM, Ruin I, Santos O, Santos RR, Schmid P, Schulreich S, Scoggins B, Sharaf A, Sheria Nfundiko J, Shuckburgh E, Six J, Solak N, Späth L, Spruyt B, Standaert O, Stanley SK, Storms G, Strahm N, Syropoulos S, Szaszi B, Szumowska E, Tanaka M, Teran-Escobar C, Todorova B, Toko AK, Tokrri R, Toribio-Florez D, Tsakiris M, Tyrala M, Ulug ÖM, Uzoma IC, van Noord J, Varda C, Verheyen S, Vilares I, Vlasceanu M, von Bubnoff A, Walker I, Warwas I, Weber M, Weninger T, Westfal M, Wintterlin F, Wojcik AD, Xia Z, Xie J, Zegler-Poleska E, Zenklusen A, Zwaan RA. Perceptions of science, science communication, and climate change attitudes in 68 countries - the TISP dataset. Sci Data. 2025 Jan 20; 12(1):114. PMID: 39833242.

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