Dr. Ricky Camplain

Ricky Camplain, PhD is an Assistant Professor in Northern Arizona’s Department of Health Sciences and an Epidemiologist at the Center for Health Equity Research. Her research focuses on chronic disease prevention and health promotion (e.g., physical activity and sedentary behavior) with a primary focus on understanding, in partnerships with communities, the health needs of vulnerable populations, particularly the intersection of being Indigenous and incarcerated. She employs epidemiologic methods to determine how culture, policy, and the social and structural determinants of health in the correctional system can impact healthy behavior and social justice.

Dr. Camplain currently serves as a PI on two research studies to determine the physical activity and nutrition needs of women incarcerated in jail. She was also a co-investigator on the “Health Disparities in Jail Populations” study in partnership with our local Criminal Justice Coordinating Council investigating the converging epidemics in our local detention center that impact population health and health care in the Northern Arizona region.

She is currently building relationships with Indigenous tribes in Arizona and partners with the Arizona Advisory Council on Indian Health Care to understand the health and health care needs in Tribal Jails.

Project title: Physical Activity among Women Incarcerated in Jail (Camplain, PI)
Description: The goal of this project is to estimate rec-time attendance and physical activity levels as well as identify facilitators and barriers to being physically active among women incarcerated in jail.
Community Partners: Coconino County Detention Facility

Project title: The Need for Diversion Programs from the Criminal Justice System in Coconino County (Camplain, PI)
Description: The goal of this project is to develop an infrastructure plan to divert individuals away from the criminal justice system through effective, evidence-based Health and Human Services programs in Coconino County.
Community Partners: Coconino County Attorney, Coconino County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council

Project title: Diets of Individuals Incarcerated in Jail (Camplain, PI)
Description: The goal of this project is to determine the nutritional adequacy of meals and commissary items available at a rural detention facility in Arizona.
Community Partners: Coconino County Detention Facility

Project title: Health Disparities in Jail Populations: Converging Epidemics that Impact Population Health and Health Care in Coconino County (Baldwin & Trotter, MPIs)
Description: The goal of this project was to determine health needs of individuals incarcerated in jail to identify points of intervention to improve overall health and wellbeing while incarcerated.
Community Partners: Coconino County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Coconino County Detention Facility

Project title: Purchase, Administer, and Expand Testing Capacity for COVID19 – Evaluation
Description: The goal of this project is to evaluate the process and impact of North Country Health Care COVID-19 testing efforts.
Community Partners: North Country HealthCare

Project title: Epidemiological Modeling to Facilitate Regional Response to Epidemic Threats in Northern Arizona (Mihaljevic, PI)
Description: The goal of this project is to predict the spread of COVID-19 Northern Arizona.

Project title: Investigating linkages between arsenic exposure, diabetes, and COVID-19 infections and risks on the Navajo Nation (Carroll, PI)
Description: The goal of this project is to identify environmental risk factors for COVID-19 infection and death on Navajo Nation to develop and implement culturally appropriate environmental health messaging to prevent COVID-19 infection and death.

Project title: Academic and Community Partnerships in Orange County to Optimize a Safe School Restart During the COVID-19 Pandemic, CRAFT-COVID (Cooper, University of California Irvine, PI)
Description: The goal of this project is to quantify COVID-19 mitigation strategy adherence, including physical distancing and face covering behaviors, among 5th and 6th graders in Orange County, CA using systematic observation techniques.

Project title: Indigenous Ethics in STEM (Ingram, PI)
Description: The goal of this project is to understand how Indigenous cultures and taboos shape Indigenous college students’ and professionals’ participant in STEM fields.

Project title: Non-Hospitalized Heart Failure (Camplain, PI)
Description: The goal of this project was to determine incidence of heart failure among Medicare beneficiaries in non-hospital settings, including the emergency department and outpatient clinics.