Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Faculty Member

Patricia O’Campo PhD

Research Interests

• Social Epidemiology
• Population Health Intervention Research
• Urban Health
• Women’s Health

Dr. O’Campo is Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Population Health Intervention Research with an established program of research focused on the impact of social policies and poverty alleviation on the well-being of urban populations. As an innovator she has advanced methodologies and generated strong evidence to inform the design of solutions to reduce urban health inequities. Relying mainly on primary data collection for her research she has received over $65 million in grant funding as PI or co-PI from national and international funding bodies.

Dr. O’Campo’s scholarship has shaped the development of the field of Social Epidemiology over the past two decades. She pioneered, in the mid-1990s, the now firmly established global research agenda concerned with the impact of residential neighbourhood conditions on health.  Her groundbreaking research is among the very first and most cited published work on this topic.

Dr. O’Campo’s unique scientific contributions which place her at the forefront of her field have been the pursuit of theoretical and methodological innovations in social epidemiology including multilevel statistical modeling, concept mapping, explanatory case studies, developmental evaluation, and evaluation methods drawing from Realist philosophy of science.  Along with community and program partners, Dr. O’Campo has been a leader of population health intervention research (or the science of solutions) and has contributed to Canada’s role as a global leader in this area.

She is an outstanding mentor who has supervised and trained well over 100 students and fellows. Her esteemed career has been widely recognized for research and mentorship starting five years post-graduation with a Young Professional Award from the American Public Health Association, a mid-career award from the US Institute of Medicine, a mid-career award for excellence in teaching, the Advancing Epidemiologic Knowledge award recognizing career contributions from a 16-organization coalition in the US and over six awards for her superb teaching and mentoring. She is both Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Education & Training History

• Doctor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University Department of Epidemiology
• Bachelor of Science (honors), University of California, Berkeley

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

• Population Health Intervention Research

Honours & Awards

• The Royal Canada Society (RSC), September 2018

• Michael’s Hospital, Social Responsibility Award, September 2014

For exceptional contributions to teaching and mentoring postdoctoral fellows in the area of population health interventions research

• Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Fellow, June 2013

• Greg Alexander Award for Advancing Knowledge, US Coalition* for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology, 2008. (*Coalition includes 16 US National organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics, US National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP), Association of the Teachers of Maternal and Child Health (ATMCH), National Association of County and City Health officers (NACCHO), City Maternal and Child Health (City Match), National Birth Defects Prevention Network, and Society for Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiologic Research.)

• Lorretta Lacey Award, Association of the Teachers of Maternal and Child Health, February 2002

• Institute of Medicine National Research Council Recognition of Young and Mid-Career Child and Family Scholars for excellence in research scholarship, May 1998.

• Elected to the Delta Omega Society (honorary public health society), Alpha Chapter, May 1996.

• AMTRA (Advising, Mentoring & Teaching Recognition Award), Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health Student Assembly, Five time winner: 1993,  1995, 1996, 2000-2001.

• Outstanding Research Award, National Perinatal Association , Clinical Conference and Exposition,November 1995.

• Young Professional Award – Maternal and Child Health Section of the American Public Health Association, 1994.

Current Research Projects

• Principal Investigator Partnership for Safe at Home-Hamilton, Social Science and Humanities Research Council, $127,000, 2020-2022.

• Site-Lead, Precarious Work Research (PWR): Multi-country study on non-standard work arrangements and its impact on well-being. Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 800,000kr September 2019-December 2022

• Co-Principal Investigator. Kind Faces, Sharing Places: A Multi-Component Demonstration Project Addressing Underlying Causes of Indigenous Maternal and Infant Morbidity and Mortality in Ontario. Merck Canada & Merck International. $2,600,000. (PIs Janet Smylie, Patricia O’Campo, Sara Wolfe (Seventh Generation Midwives), Francis Sanderson (Nishnawbe Homes)) 12/2016-12/2020.

• Co-Investigator Social determinants of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual suicidality in Canada. Social Science and Humanities Research Council, $98,500, 2020-2023. (PI Antony Chum)

• Co-Investigator, Service Design for Integrated Care: A Developmental Evaluation of the Neighbourhood Care Team Model in Toronto, Ontario. Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Co-I, Dr. G. Anderson, G. Baker, R. Bhatia, O. Bhattacharyya, P. Feng, D. Gordon, S. McKay, K. Nichol, P. O’Campo, K. Pitzul, S. PI: J. A. Shaw, S. Lockert, J. Adams. May 1, 2019 – April 30, 2021. $99,315 CAD

• Co-Investigator, Building Roads Together Global: Planning a multi-city implementation science partnership and research program. Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Co-I, P O’Campo, S Flicker. PI: Mawani, F. May 1, 2018 – December 30, 2020. $25,000 CAD

• Co-Investigator Strengthening the implementation of “Health in All Policies” at the county/municipal level in Ontario and Quebec using realist explanatory case studies and knowledge mobilization. Canadian Institutes of Health Research. PI: K Shankardass. September 2018 – September 2022. $428,400 CAD.

Representative Publications last 5 years

• Sohn M, O’Campo P, Muntaner C, Chung H, Choi M. (2020). Has the long-term care insurance resolved disparities in mortality for older Koreans? examination of service type and income level. Social Science & Medicine. 247: 112812.

• Kiran T., Wells D., Okrainec K., Kennedy C., Devotta K., Mabaya G., Phillps L., Lang A., O’Campo P. (2020). Patient and caregiver experience in the transition from hospital to home: results from a provincewide survey. CMAJ Open. In press:

• Brisbois B., O’Campo P., Kamalanathan J. (2018). Chapter 9: Inequities in cities and in urban health. Galea S. & Vlahov D. Urban Health. : 73-81.

• Stergiopoulos V, Mejia-Lancheros C, Nisenbaum R, Wang R, Lachaud J, O’Campo P, Hwang SW. Long-term effects of rent supplements and mental health support services on housing and health outcomes of homeless adults with mental illness: extension study of the At Home/Chez Soi randomised controlled trial. Lancet Psychiatry. 2019 Nov;6(11):915-925. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30371-2.

• Rethinking Social Epidemiology: Towards a Science of Change (Eds) O’Campo P. & Dunn J. Publisher: Springer October 2011

• Converging Disciplines: A Transdisciplinary Research Approach to Urban Health Problems (Eds) Kirst M., Schaefer-McDaniel N., Hwang S., O’Campo P. Publisher: Springer June 30, 2010

• Kitching GT, Firestone M, Schei B, Wolfe S, Bourgeois C, O’Campo P, Rotondi M, Nisenbaum R, Maddox R, Smylie J. Unmet health needs and discrimination by healthcare providers among an Indigenous population in Toronto, Canada. Can J Public Health. 2019 Aug 21. doi: 10.17269/s41997-019-00242-z. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31435849.

• Kirst M, Chaiton M, O’Campo P. Tobacco outlet density, neighbourhood stressors and smoking prevalence in Toronto, Canada. Health Place. 2019 Jul;58:102171. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102171. Epub 2019 Jul 23.

• Daoud N, O’Brien K, O’Campo P, Harney S, Harney E, Bebee K, Bourgeois C, Smylie J. Postpartum depression prevalence and risk factors among Indigenous, non-Indigenous and immigrant women in Canada. Can J Public Health. 2019 Aug;110(4):440-452.

• Velonis A.J., O’Campo P., Rodrigues J.J., Buhariwala P. Using implementation science to build intimate partner violence screening and referral capacity in a fracture clinic. Journal of evaluation in clinical practice. Apr 1, 2019.

• Januwalla A., Pulver A., Wanigaratne S., O’Campo P., Urquia M.L. Interventions to reduce adverse health outcomes resulting from manifestations of gender bias amongst immigrant populations: a scoping review. BMC women’s health. Dec 18, 2018

• Calvasina P., O’Campo P., Pontes MM., Oliveira JB., Vieira-Meyer APGF. The association of the Bolsa Familia Program with children’s oral health in Brazil. BMC Public Health. October 19, 2018

• Shankardass K, Muntaner C, Kokkinen L, Shahidi FV, Freiler A, Oneka G, M Bayoumi A, O’Campo P. The implementation of Health in All Policies initiatives: a systems framework for government action. Health Res Policy Syst. March 15, 2018.

• Renahy E, Mitchell C, Molnar A, Muntaner C, Ng E, Ali F, O’Campo P. Connections between unemployment insurance, poverty and health: a systematic review. Eur J Public Health. April 1, 2018

• Rotondi A, O’Campo P, O’Brien K, Firestone M, Wolfe S, Bourgeois C, Smylie J. Our Health Counts Toronto – using respondent-driven sampling to unmask census undercounts of an urban indigenous population in Toronto, Canada. BMJ Open 2017

• Muntaner C, Davis O, McIsaack K, Kokkinen L, Shankardass K, O’Campo P. Int J Health Serv: Retrenched Welfare Regimes Still Lessen Social Class Inequalities in Health: A Longitudinal Analysis of the 2003-2010 EU-SILC in 23 European Countries. 2017 Jul; 47(3):410-431.

• Oneka G, Vahid Shahidi F, Muntaner C, Bayoumi AM, Mahabir DF, Freiler A, O’Campo P, Shankardass K. J Epidemiol Community Health: A glossary of terms for understanding political aspects in the implementation of Health in All Policies (HiAP). 2017 Aug;71(8):835-838

• O’Campo P., Hwang SW., Gozdzik A., Schuler A., Kaufman-Shriqui V., Poremski D., Lazgare LIP., Distasio J., Belbraouet S., Addorisio S. Food security among individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness in the At Home/Chez Soi Trial. Public Health Nutrition. 2017 May; 1-11.

• O’Campo P., Zhang J., Omand M., Velonis A., Yonas M., Minh A., Cyriac A., Ahmad F., Smylie J: Conceptualization of Intimate Partner Violence: Exploring Gender Differencs using Concept Mapping. Journal of Family Violence. 2017 April; 32 (3): 367-382

• O’Campo P., Dunkel-Schetter C., Robbins C., Vance M., Hobel C., Ramey S., Shalowitz M., CCHN Network: Explaining racial and ethnic inequities in postpartum allostaic load: evidence from a multi-site study of Low to Middle Income Women. Social Science and Medicine Population Health. 2016 Dec; 2: 850-858

• O’Campo P, Stergiopoulos V, Nir P, Levy M, Misir V, Chum A, Arbach B, Nisenbaum R, To MJ, Hwang SW. How did a Housing First intervention improve health and social outcomes among homeless adults with mental illness in Toronto? Two-year outcomes from a randomised BMJ Open. 2016 Sep 12;6(9)

• V Puig-Barrachina., M Ruiz., D Malmusi., L Artazcoz, I Cortes., E Sanchez., C Muntaner., P O’Campo., LL Camprubi., C Borrell. The Gender Budgeting in Andalusia, an example of policy promoting health equity that has resisted austerity: Vanessa Puig-Barrachina, European Journal of Public Health, October 1, 2014

• Ng, E., Julià, M., Muntaner, C., O’Campo, P: Family Support Policies and Child Outcomes: A Realist-Scoping Review. Community, Work and Family Journal . 2017; 20 (3): 292-306.

• Urquia ML, Moineddin R, Jha P, O’Campo PJ, McKenzie K, Glazier RH, Henry DA, Ray JG. Sex ratios at birth after induced abortion. CMAJ. 2016 Jun14;188(9):E181-90.

• Urquia ML, Ray JG, Wanigaratne S, Moineddin R, O’Campo PJ. Variations in male-female infant ratios among births to Canadian- and Indian-born mothers, 1990-2011: a population-based register study. CMAJ Open. 2016 Mar 31;4(2):E116-23.

• Milla M.A., Monroy-Valle M., Agudelo-Suárez A.A., Cuervo l.G.,Stuwe l., Bann D., Burrone M.S., O’Campo P. A social epidemiology workshop in Central America: Advancing a Regional Policy on Research for Health. Global Journal of Medicine and Public Health. 2016; 5(1)

• Velonis A., Cheff R., Finn D., Davloor W., O’Campo P: Searching for the mechanisms of change: a protocol for a realist review of batterer treatment programmes BMJ Open 2016 Apr 6;6(4):e010173. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010173

• Dowbor T., Zerger S., Pedersen C., Devotta, K., Solomon R., Dobbin K.., O’Campo P: Shrinking the language accessiblity gap: a mixed methods evaluation of telephone interpretation services in a large, diverse urban health care system. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2015 Sep 14; (1):83

• Smylie, J., Kirst, M., McShane K., Firestone M., Wolfe S., O’Campo P: Understanding the Role of Indigenous Community Participation in Indigenous Prenatal and Infant-Toddler Health Promotion Programs in Canada:  A Realist Review.  Social Science & Medicine. 2016 Feb; 150:128-43

• Molnar A., Renahy E., O’Campo P., Muntaner C., Freiler A., Shankardass K: Using win-win to implement Health in All Policies: a cross-case analysis. PLOS one. 2016 Feb 4; 11(2): e0147003

• Firestone M, Smylie J, Maracle S, McKnight C, Spiller M, O’Campo P. Mental health and substance use in an urban First Nations population in Hamilton, Ontario. Can J Public Health. 2015 Jun 24;106(6):e375-81.

• Katz A., Cheff R., O’Campo P. Bringing stakeholders together for urban health equity: hallmarks of a compromised process. International Journal of Equity Health. 2015 Nov 2014;(1):138

• Julià M, Tarafa G, O’Campo P, Muntaner C, Jódar P, Benach J. Informal employment in high- income countries for a health inequalities research: A scoping review. Work. 2015 Oct 3

• O’Campo P., Belue R., Borenstein H., Vance M., Lanzi Robin G., Schafer P., Jones F., Woolword Issues and Solutions for Collecting Biological Specimen in Longitudinal Studies: Experience     from the Community Child Health Network Research Network. Journal of Health Care for the Poor  and Underserved.  2016 Feb; 27(1):339-351

• Woodhall-Melnik J, Misir V, Kaufman-Shriqui V, O’Campo P, Stergiopoulos V, Hwang S: The Impact of a 24 Month Housing First Intervention on Participants’ Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference: Results from the At Home / Chez Soi Toronto Site Randomized Controlled Trial. PLoS One. 2015 Sep 29;10(9)