Survey: Work and Health Evidence Gaps and Research Needs in the Context of COVID-19
June 2020: Researchers and knowledge users are invited to participate in a short survey that will ask your opinion on what work and health evidence gaps and research needs exist in the context of global pandemics and COVID-19.
Ability to work from home and paid sick leave benefits by precarious employment and socioeconomic status
May 2020: The public health response to COVID-19 has included a shift to working from home in an effort to limit physical contact and slow the spread of infection. However, working from home is not feasible for everyone. We analysed existing Statistics Canada General Social Survey 2016 data to estimate the number of workers who cannot work from home, and the number of workers without employer paid sick leave benefits.
The Inequity of Isolation
May 2020: Our co-directors Mieke Koehoorn and Chris McLeod are quoted in a UBC School of Population and Public Health story on isolation and social connection, and the uneven distribution of health risks.
Webinar: The effectiveness of OHS management systems: Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?
May 2020: Join us on May 19th at 11am PDT (2 pm EDT) to hear our co-director Chris McLeod consider the characteristics of audit certification that will lead to improved health and safety performance.
WorkSafeBC says 237 people have filed claims about contracting COVID-19 at work
April 2020: Our co-director Chris McLeod is quoted in a Globe and Mail article about workers’s compensation claims filed for COVID-19 infection.
Webinar: Why Gradually Returning to Work Should Be a Priority after a Workplace Injury
April 2020: PWHS postdoc Esther Maas will discuss effective and cost-effective approaches in facilitating early and sustained return-to-work after a musculoskeletal injury at a University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences seminar on Thursday, Apr 16 at 12:30 pm.
Urban-rural differences in the duration of injury-related work disability in six Canadian provinces
March 2020: A new paper by PWHS research associate Robert Macpherson found that, when compared to workers residing in metropolitan areas, those in all other areas experienced more disability days after work injury, especially in the construction and transportation and warehousing sectors.
Gender differences in surgery for work-related musculoskeletal injury
March 2020: A new paper by PWHS PhD graduate Andrea Jones found that women are less likely than men to receive surgery following work-related musculoskeletal injury in BC.
Time to return to work following workplace violence among health care and social workers
January 2020: A new paper by PWHS MSc graduate Kelvin Choi and postdoctoral fellow Esther Maas found that workers with psychological injuries in counselling and social work occupations, and in long-term care and residential social services, took longer to return to work following a violence-related incident than workers with non-violence-related incidents. This paper is an Editor’s Choice and so is free to all.
Seminar: Effects of work injury and RTW on family of precariously employed workers
January 2020: PWHS postdoctoral fellow Sonja Senthanar will discuss the impact of work injury and the return to work process on family members of precarisouly employed workers at the SPPH Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (OEH) seminar on Friday, Jan 24 at 1:00 in SPPH B151.
Heat safety for outdoor workers
January 2020: PWHS Co-Director Chris McLeod is quoted in an article about heat-related occupational health and safety for outdoor workers in OHS Canada magazine’s Nov/Dec 2019 issue.
Presentations at Cascadia 2020
January 2020: PWHS researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students are giving a series of presentations at the Cascadia Occupational, Environmental, and Population Health Conference, January 9-10, in Abbotsford, BC
Descriptive epidemiology of gradual return to work for workers with musculoskeletal disorders
November 2019: A new paper by PWHS postdoctoral fellow Esther Maas describes patterns of gradual return to work among BC workers with work-acquired musculoskeletal disorders.
At Work: Employers certified through COR programs have 12 to 14 per cent lower injury rates
November 2019: An article published in the Institute for Work & Health At Work newsletter describes PWHS evaluations of COR programs in BC and Alberta.
Cascadia Environment, Occupation, and Population Health Symposium: Innovative approaches for a planet in crisis
October 2019: The call for presentations and posters for Cascadia 2020 (Jan 9-10, 2020) is open. Submit your abstract by Nov. 15.
IWH Speaker Series: The effectiveness of COR in preventing work injury
October 2019: PWHS Co-Director Chris McLeod will present lessons from Alberta and BC on Nov. 5 at 11 am EST at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto. The presentation will also be available as a slidecast.
Making the Case for Realist Reviews
October 2019: Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies International Visiting Research Scholar Dr Geoff Wong of the University of Oxford gave a talk on realist reviews at UBC. View his slides, or learn more about our realist evaluation of violence prevention education in health care.
Burden of Occupational Cancer in Canada
October 2019: A newly-released report on the burden of occupational cancer in Canada presents estimates of occupational exposure and the associated burden of cancer by industry, as well as exposure reduction strategies for the most common occupational carcinogens in Canada. A major feature of the report is the evidence-based policy recommendations directed at government, occupational health and safety systems, employers and non-governmental organizations.
Seminar: Anxiety and depression disorders among workers with musculoskeletal injury in BC
September 2019: PWHS PHD student Andrea Jones will discuss the impacts of anxiety and depression disorders on work disability outcomes among workers with musculoskeletal injuries at the SPPH Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (OEH) seminar on Friday, Oct 4 at 1:00 in SPPH B151.
Public Health, Law and Climate Change: Legal Approaches to Protecting Children’s Health in a Warming World
September 2019: The UBC School of Population and Public Health is launching a monthly speaker series, Voices in Health, on Sept. 30 from 4-6pm. The talk will showcase the potential of using legal approaches that combine human rights law and environmental and public health research to spur action on climate change.
Seminar: Towards a vision on the future of occupational and environmental health in BC
September 2019: PWHS co-director Chris McLeod will outline his thoughts and ideas on current and future training and research needs at the weekly SPPH Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (OEH) seminar on Friday, Sept 6 at 1:00 in SPPH B151.
Roberta Ellis Award for Excellence in the Study and Practice of Occupational and Environmental Health
August 2019: On August 19 a plaque was unveiled at a ceremony at the UBC School of Population and Public Health, honouring Emily Guy, Kyle Meeking, and Nicole Boeder, the first three recipients of the annual award.
Out of the labour force and out of school: a population-representative study of youth labour force attachment and mental health
August 2019: A new paper from PWHS PhD student Anita Minh and coauthors explores mental health and labour force participation among youth.
College and University Safety Association conference
May 2019: PWHS Co-Director Chris McLeod is speaking at the College and University Safety Association 2019 conference, hosted by the BC Institute of Technology May 29-31. His talk is on the growth of OHS management systems certifications in Canada, and applicability to the education sector.
Symposium: Return to Work in a Changing World of Work
May 2019: PWHS Co-Director Chris McLeod will speak at a return to work symposium in Ottawa May 16-17. His talk will address new research looking at work injury outside workers’ home province, using data from six Canadian workers’ compensation jurisdictions.