Partnership news

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.

November 2022: This paper used a realist evaluation approach to identify when, how and why healthcare workers learn and apply violence prevention education and provides practical evidence for healthcare stakeholders to inform education, policy and practice decisions to increase the education effectiveness. Read more in Safety Science.

November 2022: This paper investigates differences in modified-return-to work (MRTW) after a work-related injury by immigration characteristics – defined as a Canadian-born worker versus a worker who immigrated via the economic, family member or refugee/other humanitarian classification. Immigrant workers who arrived to Canada as a family member or as a refugee/other immigrant had a reduced odds of MRTW within the first 30 days of work disability for a back strain, concussion and limb fracture, compared to Canadian-born workers. Read more in Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

October 2022: Abstracts are now being accepted for podium presentations, ignite talks, and posters on occupational, environmental, or population health topics for the Cascadia Symposium on Environmental, Occupational, and Public Health, January 5-6, 2023, at Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, WA. The conference will feature four cross-institution, cross-disciplinary themes (precarious work & work organization, climate change, wildfires, and the built environment) as well as presentations from across the fields of environmental, occupational, and population health.

September 2022: The BC Heritage Labour Centre is dedicating a memorial to honour the victims of asbestos exposure on September 22 at 10 am at the Vancouver Convention Centre West. The memorial is being installed with the support of the Province of BC, PavCo, and WorkSafeBC.