MSFHR 2021 Research Trainee Award: Sonja Senthanar
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.
Immigrants, work and health: Evaluation of services to reduce inequities
Work is a marker of successful integration for immigrants to Canada. While we know much about the health outcomes and employment patterns of immigrants within the Canadian context, less is known about the impact of work on health, in particular on work disability experiences. Emerging evidence suggests that immigrants take longer to return to work following a work injury/illness compared to Canadian-born workers. Provision of employment-related and rehabilitation services are meant to provide access to safe work and minimize work disability but, this has not been examined in immigrant populations.
Using a unique research opportunity that will merge immigration data with 1) workers’ compensation and medical services data; and 2) settlement service use for the working population of British Columbia, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of rehabilitation and employment-related services on work and work disability experiences of immigrants compared to Canadian-born workers, along the continuum from injury to rehabilitation to return to work and income earning. Evidence of different experiences and effectiveness of services can inform best practices and reduce health inequities for all workers, including immigrants.
Experiences resuming economic activities during COVID-19 for immigrant versus Canadian-born workers
July 2021: The COVID-19 pandemic has differentially affected immigrant workers compared with Canadian-born workers with immigrant workers expressing greater concerns regarding employment and financial security during the early stages of the pandemic. After months of restrictions that included lockdown measures and physical distancing, some restrictions are being eased, including allowing workers to return to their physical workplace. PWHS undergraduate researcher Michelle Chen and postdoctoral fellow Sonja Senthanar used Statistics Canada survey data to examine whether workers feel safe returning to work, the reasons for their fears/concerns, and their safety preferences for returning to work by immigration status and by sex/gender, where possible.
Michelle Chen is a third year BSc student in the Department of Chemistry at UBC. As part of her participation in UBC’s Research Involvement Fair organized by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities, Michelle was connected with PWHS, and, under the supervision of postdoctoral fellow Dr. Sonja Senthanar, she learned how to analyze the Canadian Perspectives Survey data to inform this work.
Key findings include:
- Immigrant men and women workers were more likely to report that they did not feel safe returning to their physical workplace compared to Canadian-born workers;
- Among all workers, the most commonly reported reasons for not feeling safe returning to work were fear of infecting family members, using public transit, and childcare/caregiving concerns; immigrant workers were more likely to report these reasons than Canadian-born workers regardless of gender;
- Among all workers, increasing sanitization of the physical workplace was the most preferred measure for feeling safer about returning to work; Canadian-born workers were more likely to report this measure than immigrant workers, regardless of gender;
- Notable differences for feeling safer about returning to work were found for immigrant men compared to all other workers for their preference for modifying work space to increase distance between employees, and for immigrant workers compared to Canadian-born workers for their preference for adopting shiftwork to increase social distancing at work, regardless of gender.
New paper reviewing the work and health impacts of working in an epidemic/pandemic environment
June 2021: Two early-career PWHS researchers, postdoctoral fellow Dr. Sonja Senthanar and researcher Dr. Jonathan Fan, conducted an umbrella review of reviews examining the work and health impacts of working in an epidemic/pandemic environment. Published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 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.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on work, employment and health are enormous. While the medical and public health research community quickly transitioned to COVID-19 research, the volume being produced presents a challenge to knowledge users. We conducted an umbrella review of reviews to inform evidence-based decision-making and best practices for the work and health of workers during an epidemic/pandemic, and to inform evidence needs for future research priorities. An umbrella review of reviews typically yields the highest quality and most definitive body of evidence.
The key findings of the umbrella review are:
- Research to date is focused on health care workers’ risk of infection and the negative mental health consequences arising from work in an epidemic/pandemic environment, as well as a variety of individual, social, and organizational factors associated with these outcomes. The review identified the need for research on occupational groups that are potentially exposed to or impacted by the negative work and health effects of COVID-19 in addition to health care workers.
- Work-related inequities related to job loss and reduced work hours for precarious, low wage workers, women and racialized workers have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, equity considerations were minimally referenced in previous reviews. These considerations should be adopted as a principle of research funding and evidence use.
- Reviews offered high-level risk mitigation and intervention strategies to address mental health outcomes and infection risk during a pandemic, such as increasing personal compliance with and adequacy of infection prevention and control; developing occupational health and social support systems; or providing appropriate services to reduce distress in health care workers. However, reviews pointed to the need to develop a consensus on core psychological interventions as well as the need to demonstrate effectiveness of intervention and risk mitigation approaches.
- There is a need for research that considers the long-term consequences of transitioning to the post-COVID-19 economy on work-related health outcomes. Workplaces may face new challenges in accommodating disabled or injured workers during and after a global pandemic. Creating safe and healthy workplaces in a post-COVID-19 economy lies at the intersection of public health, occupational health, workers’ compensation and labour standards, which creates the potential for novel collaborative opportunities.
Read the full umbrella review here.
Day of Mourning
April 2020: 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. Normally, we would have the opportunity to meet in person and remember those who have died and to reflect on how we can work together to make workplaces safer. Instead, you may wish wish to take part in an online ceremony to join together for a moment of silence at 10:30 am to remember those who have died while working.
New paper: Do workplace safety inspections lead to changes in hazard management?
April 2021: In a new paper in Safety Science PWHS research associate Robert Macpherson, analyst Masoud Yousefi, and co-director Chris McLeod analyzed safety inspection experience using a WorkSafeBC survey of workplace representatives. Over 70% of representatives reported that inspections led to changes in workplace hazard management, with predictors of changes including officer communication, orders issued, and job role. Overall, inspections can be effective in promoting changes in workplace hazard management, but improved communication is key to improving the inspection experience and impact.
New paper: A realist review of violence prevention education in healthcare
March 2021: A new paper in Healthcare describes a realist review that confirms the importance of positioning violence prevention education as part of a violence prevention strategy, and consideration of the contexts that influence successful application of violence prevention knowledge and skills. The review informs practical program and policy decisions to enhance violence prevention education effectiveness in healthcare settings.
Learn more about the realist review and its findings and recommendations: A realist review of violence prevention education in healthcare
Differences in work disability duration between out-of-province and within-province injured workers
January 2021: A new paper in Occupational and Environmental Medicine finds that out-of-province workers experience longer disability durations, particularly in construction, transportation and warehousing, and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, and in the western provinces where out-of-province workers were concentrated in those sectors. Workers’ compensation systems, employers and healthcare providers may need to tailor specific interventions for these types of workers, particularly those employed in resource economy-dependent regions that are far from their regions of residence.
Men and women at work in Canada, 1991–2016
January 2021: A new paper in Labour & Industry describes the distribution of labour by sex/gender across occupations in the Canadian workforce and examines changes in this distribution since 1991. Women’s increased labour force participation in Canada is a well-known trend over the past 40 years, and there is a perception that the gendered division of workplaces has decreased over time. This study found that over 40% of broad occupational categories were highly divided; three-quarters were mainly composed of men. For the most precise classifications, 58% of occupations were highly divided (78% mainly composed of men). The forces driving sex-segregated jobs include systems of gender essentialism, organizational hierarchies that favour men, and labour markets that are change-resistant.
Anxiety and depression disorders in men and women with work-related strains or sprains
January 2021: A new paper based on Andrea Jones’ dissertation research is published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine. It examines the prevalence and risk factors for anxiety and depression disorders among men and women with musculoskeletal strain or sprain work injury in BC, finding that 13% of men and 30% of women had medically treated anxiety, depression or both in the year before injury. Only a slight increase (~2%) in the prevalence of these disorders was observed in the year after injury. Somatic and mental comorbidities were both strong risk factors for pre-existing and new onset anxiety and depression for both men and women, but these relationships were stronger for men.
Webinar: Determining hazard management changes in workplaces following workplace safety inspections
January 2021: PWHS research associate Robert Macpherson will discuss the factors that best determine hazard management changes following workplace inspections conducted by WorkSafeBC at the SPPH Occupational and Environmental Hygiene (OEH) seminar on Friday, Jan 29 at 12:30 pm PST. View seminar details.
Learn more about this work: Health and safety programs and regulations
Free EPICOH 2020 Webinars Dec 9 and 11
November 2020: The EPICOH 2020 conference has been postponed to 2021, but a series of webinars are planned for Dec 9 and 11, 2020. These sessions, featuring presentations and an opportunity to interact with occupational epidemiology colleagues, will be free but require pre-registration.
To register: https://events.eply.com/2020EPICOH
Wednesday, December 9 10:30 AM – 13:00 Eastern Standard Time, UTC-5:00
2020 EPICOH Lifetime Achievement Award Winner, Dr. Debra Silverman, US National Cancer Institute, will present a Keynote lecture, Diesel Exhaust and Lung Cancer: A 20-Year Saga
- Dr. Raquel Velazquez-Kronen, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, USA: Shiftwork, long work hours, and inflammation in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort
- Dr. Samuel Fuhrimann, Utrecht University, the Netherlands: Neurobehavioral effects of exposure to pesticide active ingredients mixtures in Ugandan smallholder farmworkers
- Dr. Cecilia Orellana, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden: Underreporting of non-fatal occupational injuries in Sweden: a population-based study using capture-recapture methodology
Early Career Researchers Outstanding Abstracts Presentations
Friday, December 11: 10:30 AM-12:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, UTC-5:00
Presentations and Audience Discussion: The Application of Standardized Tools to Evaluate Epidemiologic Studies for Risk Assessment: Promises and Pitfalls
Plenary speakers:
Professor Roel Vermeulen, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Professor Jonathan Sterne, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Dr. Kris Thayer, Environmental Protection Agency, USA
Dr. Mary Schubauer-Berigan, International Agency for Research on Cancer, France
Dr. David Savitz, Brown University, USA
Moderator: Dr. Laura Beane Freeman, National Cancer Institute, USA
Save the dates and please share widely. All are welcome!
The EPICOH 2020 Webinars Organizers:
Marie-Élise Parent, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Canada
France Labrèche, Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail, Canada
Laura Beane Freeman, National Cancer Institute, USA
Susan Peters, Utrecht University, the Netherlands
Vivi Schlünssen, Aarhus University, Denmark
For questions, please contact Vicki Price at Face 2 Face Events Management: vicki@f2fe.com
New paper: Age differences in work-disability duration across Canada
September 2020: A new paper by Jonathan Fan, Robert Macpherson, Chris McLeod and colleagues examines age differences in work disability duration after work-related injury/illness, focusing on variations in the relationship across different disability durations.
Published in the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, the study found that older age groups had a lower likelihood of transitioning off wage-replacement benefits compared to younger age groups overall. However, age differences varied depending on length of disability duration, with greater differences observed for shorter disability durations, suggesting that older age is not always strongly associated with worse disability duration outcomes.
BC COVID-19 Research and Collaboration Symposium: Public Health, Populations, Health Services, and Impacts
August 2020: PWHS Co-Directors Mieke Koehoorn and Chris McLeod are presenting Sept 1-2 at BC COVID-19 Research and Collaboration Symposium, organized by the BC Academic Health Sciences Network, the UBC School of Population and Public Health, Simon Fraser University Faculty of Health Sciences, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. The symposium is open to all and will be held on Zoom and streamed on YouTube. Please register at https://bcahsn.ca/event/bc-covid-19-research-and-collaboration-symposium/
Mieke Koehoorn will speak on Tuesday, Sept 1, 2:10-3pm, in Session 3.1 about overall population impacts: Workers at risk for COVID-19 and determinants of risk
Chris McLeod will speak on Wednesday Sept 2, 11:30am-12:30pm, in Session 6.1 about BC schools and economy/businesses: Identifying work and health evidence gaps and research needs in the context of COVID-19
Impact of COVID-19 on employment and financial security of immigrant workers compared to Canadian-born workers
June 2020: Changes in labour market activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic could have different effects on immigrant workers compared to Canadian-born workers based on the nature of their employment. In particular, immigrants are more likely to work in precarious employment positions because their foreign credentials, lack of language proficiency, and lack of Canadian work experience excludes them from other more secure employment opportunities. Precarious employment is defined by concerns over employment continuity, access to social benefits, and financial insecurity. It is reasonable to assume that these employment inequities and associated health consequences are magnified during the uncertainty of a
global pandemic.
We conducted an analysis of employment and economic concerns of immigrant workers compared to Canadian-born workers, and investigated if employment concern impacted perceived mental health, using the Statistics Canada Canadian Perspectives Survey Series 1, a new web panel survey that was conducted for two weeks in March after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Despite similar labour force characteristics at the time of the survey in terms of employment rate and ability to work remotely/teleworking, immigrants were more likely than Canadian-born workers to believe that they would lose their job as a result of the pandemic and more likely to report that the crisis would have a major or moderate impact on their finances. As a result, immigrant workers were also more likely to have applied for, or to have received, financial and social benefits. Concerns over job security due to COVID-19 were also associated with higher differences in perceived mental health status among immigrant workers.
Download our research brief with more results of our analysis: Research Brief: Impact of COVID-19 on employment and financial security of immigrant workers compared to Canadian-born workers
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.
The purpose of this study is to generate a summary of work and health evidence gaps and research needs in the context of COVID-19, informed by a review of the research literature, a survey of COVID19 research registries, and this survey of researcher and knowledge users. The summary of needs and gaps will be submitted to research funders and knowledge users at the provincial, national and international level.
This study is funded by WorkSafeBC. The online survey is hosted in Canada and only the UBC team will have access to the answers. Your participation is voluntary and if you choose to participate, your responses are confidential. We will provide you with a copy of the report at the conclusion of the study on your request.
If you have any questions about the study or survey, please contact Survey Coordinator Suhail Marino.
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, such as workers in non-essential services who now face under- or unemployment, and essential services workers who now face risks of exposure to infection directly in the workplace or indirectly in the community (e.g. while commuting to and from work). Employer-paid benefits, such as sick leave, are also an integral part of the public health response by
supporting workers to stay at home if they are ill or experiencing symptoms, thereby reducing the risk of workplace and community transmission of COVID-19.
We conducted an analysis of 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 purpose was also to investigate if the distribution of these workers varied by employment type and by socioeconomic status to highlight workers in vulnerable circumstances during a global pandemic.
Overall, 35% of workers in Canadian provinces in 2016 reported that their job cannot be done from home and 58% reported no employer-paid sick leave benefits. Download our research brief with more results of our analysis: Research Brief: Ability to work from home and paid sick leave benefits by precarious employment and socioeconomic status
Performance of the COR® audit in BC construction firms: Do higher scores predict lower injury rates?
Webinar: The effectiveness of OHS management systems: Is the whole greater than the sum of its parts?
Lessons from an investigation of the BC Construction Safety Alliance COR® audit
Webinar | May 19, 2020 | 11 am – 12:30 pm Pacific Time (2 pm – 3:30 pm Eastern Time)
Presented by Chris McLeod, Co-Director, Partnership for Work, Health and Safety
Occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) audits, such as the Certificate of Recognition (COR) audit, are used worldwide to assess employers’ OHS performance. In BC and Alberta, COR certification is associated with lower injury rates. In the BC construction sector, the BC Construction Safety Alliance (BCCSA) is the certifying partner that oversees the design and implementation of the COR audit. The Partnership for Work, Health and Safety examined the performance of the BCCSA COR® audit tool to identify how the audit performed overall, where and under what circumstances better scores were associated with lower injury rates, and whether better performance on specific aspects of the audit were more predictive of lower injury rates. The BC findings will be considered in the national and international context, identifying characteristics of audit certification that will lead to improved health and safety performance.
Learn more about our work evaluating COR programs: Certificate of Recognition (COR) audit program
Who should attend?
- Managers and directors of OHSMS certification programs
- Auditors
- Safety officers
- Anyone involved in the administration and implementation of COR™
Presenter
Dr. Christopher McLeod is an associate professor and co-director of the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety at the UBC School of Population and Public Health and a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health in Toronto. He has led evaluations of COR programs in BC and Alberta and he is currently evaluating the COR program in Saskatchewan. His research focuses on the program and policy evaluation of occupational health policies and practices and on the causes and consequences of work-related injury and disease.
Webinar details
Please join from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/894063669
You can also dial in using your phone.
Canada: +1 (647) 497-9373
Access Code: 894-063-669
More phone numbers
United States: +1 (646) 749-3117
Australia: +61 2 9091 7603
New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts:
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/894063669
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 and colleagues examines associations between injury-related work disability duration and urban-rural place of residence, and whether associations differed by length of disability and by industry sector.
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the study found that compared to workers residing in metropolitan areas, those in all other areas experienced more disability days. Urban-rural differences increased for longer disability durations and were largest in the construction and transportation and warehousing sectors.
Tailored interventions for workers in rural areas, particularly those in sectors associated with mobile work environments, may be warranted to reduce inequities in injury-related work disability duration by place of residence.
Learn more about our national comparative research: National and international comparative research
Gender differences in surgery for work-related musculoskeletal injury
March 2020: A new paper by PWHS PhD graduate Andrea Jones examines if women are less likely than men to receive surgery following work-related musculoskeletal injury to the knee (meniscal tear), back (thoracic/lumbar disc displacement), or shoulder (rotator cuff tear) in BC.
Published in Healthcare Policy, the study found that for each injury type, a smaller proportion of women received surgery compared to men: for knee surgeries, 76% vs. 80%; for back surgeries, 13% vs. 19%; and for shoulder surgeries, 13% vs. 36%. In models adjusted for factors known to influence surgery decisions (e.g. age and history of injuries), women were still less likely than men to receive knee (13% less likely), back (46%), or shoulder (65%) surgery.
Strategies to ensure gender equitable delivery of surgical services by workers’ compensation systems may be warranted, although further research is necessary to investigate determinants of the gender difference and the impact of elective orthopaedic surgery on occupational outcomes.
Learn more about our work on sex and gender differences in : Gender, sex, and occupational health
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 examines time to return-to-work (RTW) among health care and social workers from violence-related incidents compared with non-violence-related incidents in BC.
Published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, the study found that workers with psychological injuries, and those in counselling and social work occupations and in long-term care and residential social services, took longer to RTW following a violence-related incident than workers with non-violence-related incidents.
Learn more about our work on violence prevention: Realist evaluation of violence prevention education in health care
Presentations at Cascadia 2020
January 2020: PWHS researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students are giving a series of presentations on effectiveness of return to work programs in the construction industry, effectiveness and healthcare costs of gradual return to work, work injury outside of province of residence, characteristics of injured immigrant workers, and anxiety treatments and work disability at Cascadia Occupational, Environmental, and Population Health Conference, January 9-10, in Abbotsford, BC.
Thursday, January 9
Evaluating program effectiveness on return-to-work in the construction sector
Ailin He, PWHS Analyst
Evaluating the effectiveness of gradual return-to-work for workers with a musculoskeletal disorder using linked administrative data
Esther Maas, PWHS Postdoctoral Fellow
Does being injured outside of your province of residence affect your work disability duration? A comparative analysis of six Canadian workers’ compensation jurisdictions
Robert Macpherson, PWHS Research Associate
Relationship between the external (air) microbiome and internal (airway) microbiome in participants with COPD and healthy controls
Tina Afshar, PWHS Masters Student
A comprehensive picture of healthcare costs for workers with musculoskeletal disorders in British Columbia, Canada (poster)
Esther Maas, PWHS Postdoctoral Fellow
What facilitates or prevents successful return-to-work in the construction sector (poster)
Kimberly Sharpe, PWHS PhD Student
Friday, January 10
Characteristics of injured immigrant workers in British Columbia
Sonja Senthanar, PWHS Postdoctoral Fellow
Anxiety treatment and work disability after musculoskeletal injury: consideration of a physician-based instrumental variable approach
Andrea Jones, PWHS Technical Writer/Research Coordinator
Understanding regulatory workplace safety inspections in British Columbia, Canada: Theory and evaluation
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 (RTW) among BC workers with work-acquired musculoskeletal disorders.
Published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the study investigates the injury, socio-demographic, workplace and temporal characteristics related to gradual RTW among these workers. Maas analyzed accepted workers’ compensation lost-time claims between 2010 and 2015 using a multivariable logistic regression model identify determinants of gradual RTW.
Within one year after injury, 41% of workers had at least one day of gradual RTW. Serious injury severity, female gender, increasing age, wage, and firm size, longer sickness absence, and recent previous claims increased the proportion of workers being provided with gradual RTW. Consideration of injury, socio-demographic, workplace and temporal variability in the provision of gradual RTW can identify inequalities in the provision and increase effective use of gradual RTW for workers with musculoskeletal disorders.
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 the effectiveness of Certificate of Recognition (COR) audit programs in preventing work injury on Tuesday, November 5th, at 11 am EST / 8 am PST, at the Institute for Work and Health in Toronto. The presentation will also be via webinar. Please register at: www.iwh.on.ca/events/speaker-series/2019-nov-05
Learn more about our evaluation of the COR audit program.
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.
Burden of Occupational Cancer in Canada was produced by the Occupational Cancer Research Centre, with input from experts on scientific content and policy recommendations. The occupational carcinogen exposure estimates were provided by CAREX Canada.
Key findings of the report include:
- Collectively, exposure to cancer-causing agents in the workplace is estimated to cause approximately 10,000 cancers in Canada each year. The 13 occupational carcinogens featured in this report contribute to the bulk of these.
- Solar radiation, asbestos, diesel engine exhaust and crystalline silica had the largest estimated impact on cancer burden and also the highest number of Canadian workers exposed.
- Solar Radiation: Approximately 1.4 million Canadian workers are exposed, causing an estimated 4,600 non-melanoma skin cancer cases per year.
- Asbestos: Just over 150,000 workers are exposed but it is estimated to cause 1,900 lung cancers, 430 mesotheliomas, 45 laryngeal cancers and 15 ovarian cancers annually.
- Diesel Engine Exhaust: About 897,000 workers are exposed and every year it accounts for 560 lung and 200 suspected bladder cancer cases.
- Crystalline Silica: An estimated 382,000 Canadian workers are exposed to crystalline silica, which annually causes almost 570 lung cancer cases.
- Through policy changes and workplace-based measures there are many opportunities to reduce the burden of occupational cancer across Canada.
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 (SPPH), honouring the first three recipients of the annual Roberta Ellis Award for Excellence in the Study and Practice of Occupational and Environmental Health. The award, presented originally by PWHS and WorkSafeBC and now by WorkSafeBC, goes to an SPPH student who has demonstrated excellence in coursework, practicum, or research in the area of occupational and environmental health. The award was initiated to honour the longstanding support of retired WorkSafeBC executive Roberta Ellis in the education and training of students in this area.
The 2019 winner is Emily Guy, now working as an occupational hygienist for Health Canada’s Public Service Occupational Health Program. 2018 winner Kyle Meeking works as an occupational hygiene officer for WorkSafeBC, and 2017 winner Nicole Boeder works as a health and safety advisor at the Vancouver Airport Authority.
Read more at https://www.spph.ubc.ca/plaque-unveiling-roberta-ellis-award/
L-R: Kyle Meeking, Roberta Ellis, Nicole Boeder, and PWHS co-director Chris McLeod
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.
Learn more about our national comparative research: National and international comparative research
Presentations at EPICOH 2019
April 2019: PWHS researchers are giving presentations on geographical differences in return to work, precarious work, OHS certification, and work disability differences by gender and immigration status at EPICOH, the International Symposium on Epidemiology in Occupational Health, April 29 to May 2, in Wellington, New Zealand.
Tuesday, April 30
Does region of residence matter for return-to-work after work-related injury? A comparative analysis of six Canadian workers’ compensation jurisdictions
Robert Macpherson, PWHS Research Associate
Wednesday, May 1
Precarious work and precarious lives: An analysis of the association between employment relationships and access to social and health benefits
Mieke Koehoorn, PWHS Co-Director
Thursday, May 2
Effectiveness of an audit-based occupational health and safety management system certification on firm injury rates in Alberta, Canada
Chris McLeod, PWHS Co-Director
Gender, immigration status, and work disability for acute injuries
Mieke Koehoorn, PWHS Co-Director