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.

Camplain R, Baldwin JA. Invited Commentary: The Search for Health Equity among Individuals Incarcerated in Jail Pract Anthropol. 2019 Sep; 41(4):46-48.  PMCID: PMC7587468.

Camplain R, Baldwin JA, Warren M, Camplain C, Lininger M, Trotter RT. Physical activity among individuals incarcerated in jail: A social justice issue. J Phys Act Health. 2019 May 1; 16(5):306-307. PMCID: PMC7543228.

Camplain R, Becenti L, Pinn TA, Williamson H, Pro G, Luna C, Bret J. Patterns of Physical Activity among Women Incarcerated in Jail. J Correct Health Care. In Press.

Camplain R, Camplain C, Trotter, RT, Pro G, Sabo S, Eaves E, Peoples M, Baldwin JA. Racial/Ethnic Differences in Drug- and Alcohol-Related Arrest Outcomes in a Southwest County from 2009-2018. Am J Public Health. 2020 Jan; 110(S1):S85–S92. PMICD: PMC6987943.

Camplain R, Kucharska-Newton A, Layton JB, Keyserling TC, Loehr L, Heiss G. Incidence of heart failure observed in emergency departments, ambulatory clinics, and hospitals. Am J Cardiol. 2018 Jun 1; 121(11):1328-1335. PMCID: PMC5972069.

Camplain R, Kucharska-Newton A, Loehr L, Keyserling TC, Layton JB, Wruck L, Folsom AR, Wright JD, Shah AM, Bertoni A, Heiss G. Accuracy of self-reported heart failure. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Journal of Cardiac Failure. 2017 Nov; 23(11):802-808. PMCID: PMC5671356.

Camplain R, Kucharska-Newton A, Cuthbertson C, Wright J, Alonso A, Heiss G. Misclassification of incident hospitalized and outpatient heart failure in administrative claims data: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2017 Apr; 26(4):608-624. . PMCID: PMC5380482.

Camplain R, Meyer ML, Tanaka H, Palta P, Agarwal S, Aguilar D, Butler K, Heiss G. Smoking behaviors and arterial stiffness measured by pulse wave velocity: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Am J Hypertens. 2016 Nov; 29(11):1268-1275. PMCID: PMC5055735.

Camplain R, Sotres-Alvarez D, Alvarez C, Wilson R, Perreira KM, Castaneda SF, Merchant G, Chambers EC, Gellman MD, Gallo L, Evenson KR. The association of acculturation with accelerometer-assessed and self-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior: The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Prev Med Rep. 2020 Mar; 17:101050.  PMCID: PMC6994298.

Camplain R, Pinn TA, Williamson H, Pro G, Becenti L, Bret J, Luna C, Baldwin JA. Adaptation of the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) for the Measurement of Physical Activity in Jail Settings. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jan; 17(1):349. PMCID: PMC6981919.

Camplain R, Warren M, Baldwin JA, Camplain C, Fofanov VY, Trotter RT. Epidemiology of incarceration: Characterizing jail incarcerations in Coconino County for public health research. Epidemiology. 2019 July 1; 30(4):561-568. PMCID: PMC6559241.

Camplain R, Warren M, Baldwin, JA, Camplain, C, Fofanov, Viacheslav Y, Trotter, RT II. Epidemiology of Incarceration for Public Health Research Epidemiology: July 2019 – Volume 30 – Issue 4 – p 561–568

Cheng S, Qunaibet AA, Poon AK, Heiss G. Response to “Repeatability of Different Segmental Pulse. Cuthbertson C, Heiss G, Wright JD, Camplain R, Patel MD, Foraker RE, Matsushita K, Puccinelli-Ortega N, Shah AM, Kucharska-Newton AM. Incident Heart Failure Diagnosis in the Inpatient and Outpatient Setting Among CMS Medicare Beneficiaries – Socio-Economic Status and Access to Care Factors. Ann Epidemiol. 2018 Jun; 28(6):350-355. PMCID: PMC5971162.

Eaves ER, Kohlbeck B, and Camplain C. Reflexive Challenges in Community Engaged Research in a County Jail

Eaves E, Camplain R, Lininger M, Trotter RT. Adverse Childhood Experiences in relation to drug and alcohol use in 30 days prior to incarceration in a county jail. Int J Prison Health. 2020 Nov.

Evenson KR, Brown DR, Pearce E, Camplain R, Jernigan J, Epping J, Shepard DM, Dorn JM. Evaluation of the Physical Activity and Public Health Course for Practitioners. J Phys Act Health. 2016 Jun;87(2):207-213.

Evenson KR, Dorn JM, Camplain R, Pate RR, Brown DR. Evaluation of the Physical Activity and Public Health Course for Researchers. J Phys Act Health. 2015 Aug; 12(8):1052-1060. PMCID: PMC4949596.

Fleischhacker S, Roberts E, Camplain R, Evenson KR, Gittelsohn J. Promoting physical activity among Native American youth: A systematic review of the methodology and current evidence of physical activity interventions and community-wide initiatives. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2016 Dec;3(4):608-624. PMCID: PMC4911341.

Meyer ML, Tanaka H, Palta P, Patel MD, Camplain R, Couper D Wave Velocity Measurements. Am J Hypertens. 2016 Jul;29(7):890. PMCID: PMC6267860.,

Meyer ML, Tanaka H, Palta P, Patel M, Camplain R, Couper D, Cheng S, Al Qunaibet A, Poon A, Heiss G. Repeatability of central and peripheral pulse wave velocity measures: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Am J Hypertens. 2016 Apr;29(4):470-475. PMCID: PMC4850900.

Pro G, Camplain R, de Heer BA, Chief C, Teufel-Shone N. A national epidemiologic profile of physical intimate partner violence, adverse childhood experiences, and supportive childhood relationships: Group differences in predicted trends and associations. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2020 Jan; 1-11. PMID: 31912443.

Rock T, Camplain R, Teufel-Shone N, Ingram J. Traditional Sheep Consumption by Navajo People in Cameron, Arizona. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Oct; 16(21):4196. PMCID: PMC6862166.

Valdez ES, Sabo, S, Butler M, Camplain R, Koch B, Simpson R, Castro Y. Perinatal Depression Symptom Prevalence at the US-Mexico Border. Rural Ment Health. 2019 Jan; 43(1):38.

Trotter II RT, Lininger M, Camplain R, Fofanov V, Camplain C, and Baldwin JA. A Survey of Health Disparities, Social Determinants of Health, and Converging Morbidities in a County Jail: A Cultural-Ecological Assessment of Health Conditions in Jail Populations Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Nov 8; 15(11):1-16.