A Cross-Disciplinary Effort to Understand Vaccine Uptake
A collaborative research initiative between the Political Science and Public Health faculties seeks to unpack how vaccine policies influence vaccination rates, public trust, and health equity. The project will analyze longitudinal survey data from the pandemic period, focusing on the interplay between policy environments and individual decisions about vaccination.
What the Study Will Examine
The researchers will combine a rich set of factors to forecast vaccination trends. Key variables include demographics, access to healthcare, and political beliefs. The team will also assess how state-level vaccine mandates affect short-term vaccination uptake and whether those mandates influence hesitancy in the longer term.
By evaluating both policy design and social context, the study aims to reveal how mandates can simultaneously drive initial compliance while potentially fueling resistance that lowers vaccination rates later. This nuanced view helps explain the complex reality of public health campaigns in politically diverse settings.
Leadership and Expertise
Kmush, the project’s principal investigator, serves as the director of graduate studies and associate professor of public health. She is also a senior research associate at the Center for Policy Research and a research affiliate at the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health. Her recent co-authored work,
“Associating Race, Income, and Discrimination with COVID-19 Vaccine Status, Hesitancy, and Access in the United States: A Cross-sectional Study,” appeared in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, signaling a sustained focus on equity in vaccination decisions.
Gadarian, a professor of political science and associate dean for research, is a principal co-investigator. She brings experience from the Campbell Public Affairs Institute and affiliations with the Center for Policy Research and the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health. Her scholarly background includes Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID, co-authored under a prestigious Carnegie Fellowship and published by Princeton University Press in 2022.
Collaborative Team and Roles
The study’s co-investigators bring diverse expertise: Rachel Dinero, associate professor of psychology at Le Moyne College; and Timothy Callaghan and Matt Motta, faculty members in the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at Boston University. A post-doctoral fellow in the Public Health Department at Maxwell, Dustin Hill, will support data collection and analysis as a research assistant.
The collaboration reflects a deliberate bridging of disciplines to address a public health priority: understanding how policy interventions shape real-world vaccination outcomes. By combining political science methods with health services research, the team seeks to deliver insights that are both academically rigorous and policy-relevant.
What This Means for Policy and Practice
As governments continue to craft or revise vaccination requirements, this study could illuminate the trade-offs policymakers face. If mandates boost short-term coverage but fuel hesitancy over time, public health officials may need to pair mandates with sustained outreach, equitable access, and transparent communication to maintain trust and high vaccination levels.
The longitudinal design enables tracking changes in attitudes and behavior across different political climates and policy contexts, offering a clearer picture of how to design vaccination campaigns that respect individual choice while protecting community health.
Public Engagement and Next Steps
Jessica Youngman authored the initial report, with additional reporting from Jacob Spudich. As findings emerge, the researchers envision informing policymakers, health practitioners, and the public about how policy design and political environments intersect to shape vaccine acceptance and public health outcomes.
