/ PhD Candidate · Health Services & Policy Research

Claire A. Pernat

My research asks why some communities are left out of the preventive health interventions designed to protect them and what it takes to change that.

I am a PhD candidate in Health Services and Policy Research at Boston University School of Public Health, specializing in implementation science and evaluation. My work sits at the intersection of preventive health services, Muslim health, immigrant and refugee health, and health decision-making. Vaccination is at the core: how communities make decisions about vaccines, what shapes those decisions, and what it takes to build trust and infrastructure that makes preventive care accessible across different health systems and cultural contexts.

My research is comparative and international. I have examined vaccine hesitancy and preventive care access across the US and Norway, asking how health systems and social structures shape health behavior differently depending on where someone is from and where they live.

I use mixed methods and community-centered approaches. The communities I work with are not my subjects. They are my collaborators. I engage regularly with religious organizations and community groups to ensure my work is grounded in trust and cultural responsiveness.

I hold a B.A. in Community Health from Tufts University and an M.Phil. in Global Development with a specialization in Health Promotion from the University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway. I have conducted research in the field of health services and public health at various institutions, including NORCE (Norwegian Research Centre), Massachusetts General Hospital's Cancer Center, Department of Surgery, and Institute of Health Professions, as well as the University of Minnesota's Program in Health Disparities Research.

I am open to conversations about collaboration and positions beginning in 2027 in health services research, health policy, and global health, in the US and internationally.