Archives by date

December 2021: Published in Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, this study examined the effectiveness of an integrated return-to-work (RTW) and vocational rehabilitation (VR) program on cumulative disability days paid to injured workers in the construction sector in Ontario. Findings suggest that the program reduced cumulative disability days paid to all claims but particularly long-duration claims referred to RTW specialists and short-duration claims referred to VR specialists.

December 2021: The results of graduate trainee Niloufar Saffari’s thesis work are published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Using a novel linkage of BC workers’ compensation claims and permanent resident data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Saffari et al found that both recent and established immigrants in BC experience more days of disability after work injury than Canadian-born workers.

November 2021: WorkSafeBC is seeking applicants for Research Training Awards, available to highly-qualified graduate students at the master’s and doctoral level, and for the Ralph McGinn Postdoctoral Fellowship competitions. These awards are designed to foster the development of occupational health and safety research expertise in BC.

November 2021: PWHS postdoctoral fellow Dr. Sonja Senthanar and colleagues examined differences in disability duration after a work injury among immigrants compared to Canadian-born workers and found inequities in disability duration for immigrant workers, particularly economic and family class and women immigrants.

October 2021: PWHS co-leads Mieke Koehoorn and Chris McLeod are giving a series of presentations on gender/sex differences in workers’ compensation, and differences in disability duration after work injury for immigrant workers, by firm size, and in the construction industry, at the 28th International Symposium on Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH) conference, October 25-28.

September 2021: The Institute for Work & Health Speaker Series will present results from a study on the nature and extent of claim suppression in BC on Sept 28 at 8am PDT. Register here.

September 2021: The MSFHR Research Trainee Program supports health researchers in the training phase of their research career to enable career development and the long-term success of the BC health research landscape. PWHS post doctoral fellow Sonja Senthanar is a 2021 recipient for her project, entitled Immigrants, work and health: Evaluation of services to reduce inequities.

July 2021: From Sept 20-23, 2021 the prevention community will come together to address this global priority at the XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work. The completely online, digital event offers world-class speakers, inspiring experiences, elevated networking, premium content, and access to global leaders. Early bird registration has been extended to July 26, 2021.

June 2021: PWHS researchers conducted an umbrella review of reviews examining the work and health impacts of working in an epidemic/pandemic environment. The review addresses the impacts of working during an epidemic or global pandemic on work and health outcomes; the socioeconomic, demographic and work factors that are associated with these outcomes; and potential risk mitigation or intervention strategies that address these factors or outcomes.

June 2021: About half of BC workers who have a work injury or illness that results in time away from work do not report the injury or illness to WorkSafeBC, and an estimated four to 13 per cent of workers with work-related injuries experience claim suppression—i.e. pressure or inducement from an employer not to make a claim.

May 2021: On June 8 at 10am PDT Mieke Koehoorn will speak at a Bancroft Institute session on life and work after work injury, on research opportunities to investigate employment and salary outcomes among injured workers with permanent impairments.

April 2021: April 28 is a national day of mourning to remember workers who lost their lives on the job. The death of each worker is an immeasurable loss and has devastating consequences for families and friends. And each death is preventable. This year, the day of mourning is especially significant given the many essential and healthcare workers who have lost their lives to due to workplace COVID-19 exposure. Online ceremonies in BC.

April 2021: A new paper in Safety Science found that over 70% of respondents to a WorkSafeBC survey reported that inspections led to changes.

February 2021: An article in the Journal of Commerce describes research from the Vancouver School of Economics and our co-director, Mieke Koehoorn, on risk of COVID-19 transmission in workplaces. A research brief on this work is available.

February 2021: PWHS PhD candidate Sharon Provost will discuss findings and practical recommendations from a realist evaluation of the education for BC healthcare workers to prevent violence from patients and visitors at the SPPH Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (OEH) seminar on Friday, March 5 at 12:30 pm PST.

January 2021: A new paper in Occupational and Environmental Medicine examines the prevalence and risk factors for anxiety and depression disorders among men and women with musculoskeletal strain or sprain work injury in BC.

January 2021: PWHS postdoctoral fellow Sonja Senthanar will join a panel on challenges and strategies for engaged knowledge translation and exchange at a CARWH Working Session on Thursday, Jan 21 at 11 am PST.