Contact

Ricky Camplain, PhD

Email:
rcampla​@iu.edu

SHERC Research Project

Physical activity opportunities and health impacts while incarcerated

 

Ricky Camplain discusses her research work with a colleague at the Coconino County Jail in Flagstaff.

The US has experienced an unparalleled epidemic of incarceration, which increases the risk of multiple chronic conditions for Americans. More than 9 million Americans are incarcerated in jail (facilities housing individuals awaiting trial and serving short sentences) each year. Americans incarcerated have a higher burden of chronic conditions, psychiatric disorders, and drug dependence compared to the general population.

Ricky Camplain is studying physical activity and sedentary behavior and their impacts on health outcomes among incarcerated individuals. The objective of the proposed research is to determine physical activity opportunities in an Arizona county jail and examine the impact on health while incarcerated and after release.

The research team will interview jail staff and individuals incarcerated to determine leisure and work-related physical activity opportunities and activities while incarcerated.

Over a year, they will recruit a cohort of a total of 500 people incarcerated at two northern Arizona jails to understand differences in patterns of time spent in physical activity and sedentary time while incarcerated and how those patterns impact physical and mental health during and after incarceration. Using data collected from the cohort, they will simulate realistic interventions that decrease sedentary behavior and increase physical activity to then share back with the jail facilities.

Study aims

    • Describe leisure and work-related PA and SED activities and opportunities in an Arizona jail. To identify jail initiatives that impact PA and SED opportunities, semi-structured, interviews will be completed with 15 staff and administrators and 15 individuals incarcerated in YCDC.
    • Determine the impact of PA and SED on health during and after incarceration among individuals incarcerated in an Arizona jail. Using a one-year prospective cohort design among 250 individuals incarcerated, we hypothesize that compared to those who engage in more PA and less SED, those with lower PA and higher SED levels will have higher stress, higher blood pressure, and worse sleep quality while incarcerated and after release from jail.
    • Estimate the probable impact of SED and PA interventions to improve health outcomes. Using data from the proposed cohort study, we hypothesize that under realistic conditions, simulated interventions to increase PA and to SED will improve health of individuals while incarcerated.

Study impact

Incarceration’s impact on chronic illnesses and other health issues among Americans is only increasing, particularly among individuals incarcerated in rural facilities. Access to opportunities to increase PA and decrease SED in jails can improve the health of people while incarcerated. The collection of primary, longitudinal data to inform simulated interventions, which hold promise to impact PA and SED among individuals while incarcerated in jail facilities, will provide information to the jails’ administration for recommended programmatic and policy changes.

Funding: The study is funded by NIMHD/NIH U54MD012388

Investigators

 

Southwest Health Engagement and Research Collaborative
Location
Room 120 Building 56
Applied Research & Development
1395 S Knoles Dr.
Flagstaff, Arizona 86011
Mailing Address
PO Box 4065
Flagstaff, Arizona 86011