Partnership news

October 2023: The FABS study is interviewing employees who were bullied, harassed, and/or experienced violence in the workplace. We offer $75 for participation and interviews can be conducted in Spanish, Filipino, Punjabi, Farsi, Vietnamese, Chinese, and English. Share your story!

September 2023: The Policy and Practice in Return to Work after Work Injury (PPRTW) Research Group is presenting a conference in person at the University of Ottawa June 9 to 11, 2024. The conference will also include a tribute to the late professor Katherine Lippel, an international leader in labour and health policy, and founder of the research group holding the conference. Researchers, students, injured or ill workers, community members, advocates and policy-makers are invited to submit presentation proposals.

September 2023: PWHS PhD student Xiaocong (Maggie) Guo is presenting on the burden of occupational heat-related illness in BC and the impact of heatwaves on Sept 19 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, at the Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology.

September 2023: The Cascadia Occupational, Environmental & Population Health 2024 Conference will be held on January 11 & 12, 2024, at Semiahmoo Resort in Washington State. Watch for abstract submission and registration details to come!

August 2023: The Institute for Work & Health is now accepting applications for its inaugural Cameron Mustard Early Career Accelerator Award. The application deadline is Friday September 29, 2023.

May 2023: This paper uses claims data from five Canadian provincial workers’ compensation systems to estimate how much variance in work disability duration was due to differences between regions, what regional labour market characteristics were associated with work disability duration, and what characteristics best explained regional differences in work disability duration. The findings suggest that while regional labour market conditions matter for work disability duration, system-level differences in workers’ compensation and health care are more important factors.

May 2023: This study investigated preference to continue teleworking post-pandemic and the determinants of this preference among healthcare employees who teleworked during the pandemic. An overwhelming majority (99%) preferred to continue teleworking to some degree and the majority (52%) preferred to telework for all work hours. Read more in Healthcare Management Forum.

April 28, 2023: Today, Canada is observing the National Day of Mourning to remember and honour those who have lost their lives or been injured due to workplace tragedies. Find a listing of Day of Mourning events and livestreams here.

The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is now accepting applications for its 12-month S. Leonard Syme Research Training Awards in Work and Health. The awards are for young researchers at the master’s or doctoral level intending to study work and health.

February 2023: This paper describes geographic variation in incidence of mesothelioma across BC and Ontario regions from 1993-2016, in comparison to the prevalence of certain occupations, and point sources of historical asbestos production and use. Certain occupations such as construction trades workers were more likely to be overrepresented in regions with high mesothelioma rates. Read more in Cancer Causes and Control.

January 2023: The Institute for Work & Health is now accepting applications for its Mustard Postdoctoral Research Award in Work and Health. The application deadline is Friday March 24, 2023.

January 2023: PWHS postdoctoral fellow Sonja Senthanar and former PWHS PhD student Anita Minh, now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington, will address precarious work in a plenary session; PhD student Xiaocong Guo will present a poster on heat-related illness and injury; and research associate Robert Macpherson will give a presentation on regional labour market conditions at the Annual Cascadia Symposium on Environmental, Occupational, and Population Health, January 5-6, 2023 in Blaine, WA.

December 2022: This paper describes the incidence of heat-related illness among workers in BC from 2001-2020. Rates were higher among male workers, younger workers, and among those working in occupations related to primary industry; trades, transport and equipment operators; and processing, manufacturing, and utilities. Read more in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

November 2022: Chris McLeod will give a virtual talk discussing the effectiveness of HC management systems for the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium on Dec 1 at 9:30 am PST. Register here, or learn more about our research in this area.

November 2022: The inaugural edition of the IDIVOSH global forum, June 12-14 2023 in Montreal, will focus on the theme Immigration, Diversity of the Workforce, Precariousness and Vulnerabilities in Occupational Health and Safety. Abstracts are due January 9, 2023.