Bio: Claus Wendt, M.A., Ph.D., a 2008-09 Commonwealth Fund Harkness/Bosch Foundation Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice, is research fellow and project director at the Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung (Center for European Social Research) at the University of Mannheim. Previous positions include senior research fellow at the Collaborative Research Center 597, University of Bremen, and lecturer and research fellow at the Institute of Sociology, University of Heidelberg. Wendt's research interests include institutional theory, political sociology, international comparisons of welfare states and health care systems, and the sociology of health. He has written 18 journal articles, with publications in Das Gesundheitswesen, European Review, Social Policy & Administration, International Journal of Health Services, Health, Economics, Policy & Law, and Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis. Wendt holds a Ph.D. summa cum laude in sociology and a master's degree in political science, sociology, and economics from Heidelberg University, where his Ph.D. thesis won the Ruprecht-Karls Prize.
Placement: Harvard University
Mentors: Robert Blendon, Sc.D.
Project: Confidence in Receiving Medical Care in Seven Countries
Description: Wendt's project investigated the correspondence between particular institutional arrangements of health care and citizens' trust in the performance of these institutions. Using data from the Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey, he explored public attitudes towards the health system, how these correlate with institutional arrangements, and how they vary based on socioeconomic differences.