Carol E. Kaufman, PhD, is a professor of community and behavioral health. Dr. Kaufman has more than 20 years of experience conducting research with tribal communities in the Colorado School of Public Health's Centers for American Indian & Alaska Native Health. She has grounded these efforts within a strong community-based participatory research framework, working closely with communities to enhance partnership and collaboration in all aspects of research. She is a demographer/sociologist with major research interests in: (1) the cultural and community context of adolescent risk-taking in sexual health and substance use; (2) the adaptation, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of theory-based health interventions within and across diverse communities; and (3) new applications and approaches in research design and methodology. Additionally, she works closely with the Office of Rural Health of the Department of Veteran Affairs to translate research into practice to improve the health and well-being of Native American Veterans. She also teaches undergraduate and graduate public health courses, and embraces innovative approaches to promoting a diverse and well-trained public health workforce.
Areas of Expertise
- American Indian and Alaska Native health
- Sexual health
- Mental health
- Substance use
- Veteran health
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- PhD, Sociology/Demography, University of Michigan, 1996
- MA, Sociology, University of Michigan, 1992
- MA, Latin American Studies, Tulane University, 1988
- BS, Industrial Engineering, Northwestern University, 1985
Resumes/CV:
Awards
- Veterans Affairs Medical Media Arts Award, 1st Place for Rural Veteran Outreach Toolkit and Workbook v. 3.0. Product of the Veterans Rural Health Resource Center-Salt Lake City (Project Lead). Funder: Office of Rural Health, VHA, 2018.
- Delta Omega National Honorary Society in Public Health, Alpha Upsilon Chapter, 2019.
Courses
- CBHS 7670 CBH Advanced Doctoral Seminar
- PBHL 4040 Social Determinants of Health (undergraduate course)
- New Graduate Course: Ethical Considerations in American Indian and Alaska Native Health
Research
- NIAAA, Preventing Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies among Urban Native Youth: Native WYSE CHOICES, August 2018-July 2023, Role: MPI (with Michelle Sarche)
- Office of Rural Health, Veterans Health Administration, Tribal VHA Partnerships in Suicide Prevention, October 2019-September 2022, Role: Project Lead
- Office of Rural Health, Veterans Health Administration, Rural Native Veteran Navigator Program Development, October 2019-September 2023, Role: Executive Team Member
- Office of Adolescent Health/DHHS, Teen Pregnancy Prevention among Native Youth of the Northern Plains, September 2010-August 2015, Role: PI
- CDC, Translating RESPECT with Native Communities, September 2008-September 2011
Publications and Presentations
- Kaufman, C.E., Asdigian, N.L., Running Bear, U., Beals, J., Manson, S., Bair, B., Dailey, N., Shore, J. 2020. Rural and Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Veteran Health Disparities: a Population-Based Study. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2020). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00730-w
- Tuitt, NR., Asdigian, N, Whitesell, N., Mousseau, A, Al-Tayib, Alia, Kaufman, C.E. (2020) Moving the Prevention Timeline: A Scoping Review of the Literature on Precursors to Sexual Risk in Early Adolescence. Journal of Adolescence, 80(April):145-156
- Asdigian, N.A., Running Bear, U., Beals, J., Manson, S., Kaufman, C.E., (2018) Mental health burden in a national sample of American Indian and Alaska Native adults: Differences between multiple race and single race subgroups. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 53(5), 521-530
- Whitesell, N.R., Mousseau, A., Sarche, M., Keane, E.M., Kaufman, C.E. (2018) Advancing scientific methods in community and cultural context to promote health equity: Lessons from intervention research with American Indian and Alaska Native communities. American Journal of Evaluation. 39(1):42-57
- Asdigian, N.L., Whitesell, N.R., Keane, E.M., Mousseau, A.C., Kaufman, C.E. (2018) Effects of the ‘Circle of Life’ HIV-prevention program on marijuana use among American Indian middle school youths: a group randomized trial in a Northern Plains tribe. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 44(1):120-128