Partnership news

September 2022: PWHS co-lead Mieke Koehoorn, research associate Robert Macpherson, postdoctoral fellow Sonja Senthanar, and researcher Andrea Jones are giving presentations on health and employment outcomes for immigrant workers, healthcare workers’ preference to continue remote work after the pandemic, claim rates for in- vs out-of-province workers, and the effect of COR on workplace safety at the Canadian Association for Research in Work and Health (CARWH) bi-annual conference, September 15-16, 2022.

September 2022: The annual Cascadia Symposium on Environmental, Occupational, and Public Health Conference will re-launch January 5-6, 2023 at the Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, WA. Please save the date and stay tuned for more information!

July 2022: Listen to Chris McLeod describe the methodology we used in assessing how the COR™ program affected lost-time and high-impact injury rates in Ontario in the IHSA Safety Podcast. In this discussion, Paul Casey of Ontario’s Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA) also shares what prompted IHSA to engage with PWHS.

July 2022: The Canadian Association for Research in Work and Health (CARWH) is taking place online September 15-16, 2022, with the theme “The Changing World of Work, Health and Research.” This year, attendance will be free to all. Abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations are welcome, and the deadline for submissions is extended to Friday, July 22.

June 2022: PWHS and the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) are looking for public transport workers ages 35 and under to participate in our research project to better understand the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on young workers and their workplace mental health.

June 2022: This paper examines the impact of pre-existing anxiety and depression disorders on return to work using a phase-based approach. Findings suggest that workers with a pre-existing anxiety disorder may require additional supports both during lost-time and after initial return to work. Read more in Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

May 2022: Co-director Chris McLeod presented findings showing COR leads to safer workplaces at the Ontario General Contractors Association’s annual Leadership Day, held May 6 in Vaughan, ON. Read more in the Journal of Commerce.

April 2022: Canadian workers compensation boards reported that 924 workers died due to work-related causes in 2020. Authored by Sean Tucker and Anya Keefe, this report provides a jurisdictional comparison of work-related injury and fatality rates in Canada between 2016 and 2020 using data from the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC).

April 2022: April 28 is National Day of Mourning in remembrance of workers who lost their live to workplace injury and disease this year. A ceremony will be held on April 2 at 10:30 am at Jack Poole Plaza in Vancouver. Watch our co-director Chris McLeod’s message.

April 2022: A multidisciplinary team of researchers from PWHS and the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity (CGSHE) received funding from CIHR for a mixed-methods study that will critically assess the effect of COVID-19 policies on violence, bullying and harassment in the food and beverage service sector in BC.

April 2022: PWHS and the Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity (CGSHE) are seeking (1) a Project Coordinator/Interviewer and (2) a Qualitative Research Lead/Interviewer to conduct a mixed-methods study that will critically assess the effect of COVID-19 policies on violence, bullying, and harassment in the BC food and beverage service sector. Please note that these positions closed on April 20, 2022.

February 2022: This scoping review examines barriers and facilitators to return-to-work in the construction industry. Findings suggest that work accommodations are possible but the physical nature and organization of labour present challenges for identifying suitable work. Evidence gaps include the role of unions, workers’ compensation systems, gender and industry-specific organizational characteristics in the return-to-work process. Read more in Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

February 2022: PhD student Kimberly Sharpe developed a framework that identifies predisposing, enabling, workplace environment and need-based factors that could lead to variation in health care spending and use across regions, offering a guide for researchers and policymakers to identify areas for improvement in health care delivery within work disability management systems. Read more in Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

January 2022: Using WorkSafeBC and Statistics Canada data for 2010-2017, we found that workers from out of province had lower workers’ compensation claim rates than those from within province, even after adjusting for sex, age, industry and year. Differences were largest among health care only claims and smallest among serious injury claims. Read more in American Journal of Industrial Medicine.

January 2022: We examined differences in work disability duration by firm size using data from five Canadian and five Australian workers’ compensation systems. Compared to large firms (200+ FTEs), workers in small firms (<20 FTEs) had longer work disability duration in all but one of the study jurisdictions, even after adjusting for a range of individual-level characteristics. Read more in Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.

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.