I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar at the University of British Columbia. Additionally, I am a Faculty Affiliate of the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies.
After completing my Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences (2004) from Columbia University, I was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2004-2006.
My research centers on the study of individual and community socioeconomic determinants of physical and mental health. Some of my current solo and collaborative projects focus on:
-the positive and negative health consequences of neighborhood-based social capital for adult subpopulations
-the impact of community socioeconomic conditions on health outcomes
-testing aspects of the fundamental cause theory of health disparities
-the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods for assessing community conditions
-the role of sociological theory and the importance of theory-building in the conduct of population health research and policy

Representative publications

Carpiano, Richard M., Lloyd, Jennifer E.V., & Hertzman, Clyde. (2009). Concentrated Affluence, Concentrated Disadvantage, and Children's Readiness for School: A Population-Based, Multi-Level Investigation. Social Science & Medicine, 69(3), 420-432.
Dennis, Samuel, Gaulocher, Suzanne, Carpiano, Richard M., & Brown, David. (2009). Participatory Photo-Mapping (PPM): Exploring an Integrated Method for Health and Place Research with Young People. Health & Place, 15(2), 466-473.
Carpiano, Richard M. (2009). Come Take a Walk with Me: The “Go-Along” Interview as a Novel Method for Studying the Implications of Place for Health and Well-Being. Health & Place, 15(1), 263-272.
Polonijo, Andrea, & Carpiano, Richard M. (2008). Representations of Cosmetic Surgery and Emotional Health in Women’s Magazines in Canada. Women’s Health Issues, 18(6), 463-470. Erratum: Women's Health Issues, 19(2), 157-158.
Carpiano, Richard M., Link, Bruce G., & Phelan, Jo C. (2008). Social Inequality and Health: Future Directions for the Fundamental Cause Explanation for Class Differences in Health. In Annette Lareau and Dalton Conley (Eds.), Social Class: How Does It Work? New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Carpiano, Richard M. (2008). Actual or Potential Neighborhood Resources and Access to Them: Testing Hypotheses of Social Capital for the Health of Female Caregivers. Social Science & Medicine, 67(4), 568-582.
Weden, Margaret M., Carpiano, Richard M., & Robert Stephanie A. (2008). Subjective and Objective Neighborhood Characteristics and Adult Health. Social Science & Medicine, 66(6), 1256-1270.
Carpiano, Richard M. (2007). Neighborhood Social Capital and Adult Health: An Empirical Test of a Bourdieu-based Model. Health & Place, 13(3), 639-655.
Kuppin, Sara A., & Carpiano, Richard M. (2006). Public Conceptions of Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse, Their Causes and Treatments: Findings from the 1996 General Social Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 96(10), 1766-1771.
Carpiano, Richard M., & Daley, Dorothy M. (2006). A Guide and Glossary on Post-Positivist Theory-Building for Population Health. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 60, 564-570.
Carpiano, Richard M., & Daley, Dorothy M. (2006). Theory-Building on the High Seas of Population Health: Love Boat, Mutiny on the Bounty, or Poseidon Adventure? Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 60, 571-577. (Invited commentary).
Carpiano, Richard M. (2006). Towards a Neighborhood Resource-based Theory of Social Capital for Health: Can Bourdieu and Sociology Help? Social Science & Medicine, 62(1), 165-175.