Past events
Primary tabs
IWH Speaker Series
Health-care workers and antineoplastic drugs: Evaluating the risks and identifying determinants of exposure
Chun Yip Hon, Ryerson University
Health-care workers may be exposed to hazardous antineoplastic drugs—i.e. drugs used in chemotherapy—when handling them and/or when touching surfaces contaminated by them. Most studies looking at exposures to antineoplastic drugs in hospitals have been limited to select departments and/or workers with certain job titles. This may lead to an underestimation of the risk if all exposures during the circulation of the drug within a facility from cradle to grave (known as the hospital medication system) are not taken into account. In this plenary, Chun Yip Hon, an assistant professor in Ryerson University's School of Occupational and Public Health, talks about his study of antineoplastic drugs and the hospital medication system. His results suggest that contamination is more widespread than initially believed and that a wider range of job categories are at risk of exposure to antineoplastic drugs.
IWH Speaker Series
Non-randomized studies in Cochrane reviews of intervention studies: A content analysis
Jani Ruotsalainen, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Finland
Although a growing number of Cochrane reviews of intervention studies have included non-randomized studies, how and why these studies have been included has not been evaluated to date. In this plenary, Jani Ruotsalainen, managing editor of the Cochrane Occupational Safety and Health Review Group, talks about the practice of including non-randomized studies in Cochrane systematic reviews, focusing on the reasons why these studies were included. He also looks at the methods used by the studies to assess risk of bias.
IWH Speaker Series
Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study: Recruitment and participant characteristics
Sarah Derrett, University of Otago, New Zealand
A longitudinal study is underway in New Zealand to identify the predictors of disability following an injury. This study, called the Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study, involves 2,856 participants who were selected from the entitlement claims registry of the country’s no-fault compensation insurer, the Accident Compensation Corporation. Participants were recruited between 2007 and 2009, and follow-ups were done at 12 months and 24 months after their injuries. In this plenary, principal investigator Sarah Derrett provides a brief overview of the study design, participant characteristics (including health and disability status), and findings on the factors associated with disability.
IWH Speaker Series
Visuals for workplace safety
Peter Stoyko, Elanica (Information Design Consultancy)
Health and safety regulators are relying more and more on visuals to communicate information and change behaviour, especially among diverse populations. Peter Stoyko, a social scientist and information designer, draws upon scientific findings, design principles and his own field research in Asia to discuss the crafting of workplace safety visuals that are both engaging and effective.
IWH Speaker Series
A classification of components of workplace disability management programs: Results from a systematic review
Merete Labriola, University of Aarhus, Denmark
A Campbell systematic review on the effectiveness of workplace disability management programs promoting return to work (RTW)—as implemented and practiced by employers—was published in 2012. Due to insufficient data, the systematic review was unable to determine if specific workplace-based programs or program elements improved RTW effectiveness. However, the studies of workplace programs included in the review were rich in describing RTW program components, procedures and implementation issues, allowing the researchers to develop a classification system for workplace-based programs that may help workplaces identify gaps in their RTW strategies. This plenary talks about the Campbell systematic review and the resulting classification system.
IWH Speaker Series
A multi-centre research initiative focusing on successful integration of youth into education and employment
Thomas Lund, Regional Hospital Herning, Denmark
Denmark faces large and growing problems integrating youth into education and gainful employment. The proportion of younger disability pensioners is increasing and, in some parts of the country, more than one third of those not enrolled in secondary education rely on social benefits related to ill health and unemployment. The concept of a generation for whom working life is over before it begins is also recognized in other north European countries. In order for policy-makers to make informed and evidence-based decisions, a multi-centre research initiative (referred to as FOCA) has been set up to explore the successful integration of youth into education and employment. This plenary discusses the current and planned studies being undertaken through FOCA, as well as the data currently available and the possibilities for future collaboration.
IWH Speaker Series
Monitoring health inequities by socio-economic status: Lessons from Scotland
John Frank, Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy, University of Edinburgh
There is much enthusiasm globally for reducing health inequalities by socio-economic status. However, only a few jurisdictions internationally have put substantial effort into robustly monitoring such inequalities over several years. Scotland is perhaps the best example of a country that has. In this plenary, Dr. John Frank of the Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy presents the results of a half-decade of annual Scottish government reports on reducing health inequalities by socio-economic status (SES).
IWH Speaker Series
Fairness in accommodating work injury and disability: What is perceived as fair and why do these perceptions matter?
Gail Hepburn, University of Lethbridge
Worker perceptions of organizational fairness are linked to a host of productive and counter-productive worker attitudes and behaviours (e.g. organizational commitment, absenteeism, theft, worker well-being), yet few studies have examined organizational fairness within the context of accommodating injured and ill workers. This plenary looks at recent research into the perceptions of fairness among both workers needing accommodation and their co-workers. It also explores the impact of these perceptions.
IWH Speaker Series
Work disability trajectories under three workers' compensation programs
Emile Tompa, Institute for Work & Health
This presentation profiles a study that investigated how Ontario workers’ compensation claimants from different time periods fared in terms of labour-market earnings recovery. More specifically, this study investigated the labour-market earning patterns of Ontario workers’ compensation long-term disability claimants from three different time periods and receiving benefits under three different programs. The study provides insights into the individual and contextual factors that contribute to labour-market engagement and earnings recovery.
IWH Speaker Series
Near-miss reporting…on the road to prevention
Ester Digiovanni, Atotech Canada Ltd.
Occupational health and safety professionals persist in their efforts to eliminate, minimize and treat risk. Although much progress has been made over the last few decades, workplace incidents continue to occur. When it comes to industrial incidents, being proactive and concentrating on prevention are the keys to improved performance. In light of this, Atotech Canada Ltd. has decided to broaden its safety culture by emphasizing the reporting of near misses. This plenary talks about this effort and how it has raised awareness of industrial risks.
IWH Speaker Series
Serving the food nation: Assessing body mass index and self-perceived weight in the food service worker population
Julia Woodhall , University of Waterloo
Ms. Woodhall’s research, the subject of this plenary, investigates the views that fast-food workers hold regarding health and eating to uncover how these workers negotiate their own food and lifestyle choices. This work draws on the body of research on the implications of proximity to fast food, fast-food work structures and the socioeconomic explanations for eating high caloric food outside of the home. The argument is that these fast-food workers participate in an internalized negotiation process to determine their food consumption patterns at work. These workers are constrained in their choices, due to socioeconomic status, time concerns and food availability at work.
IWH Speaker Series
Certifications and awards for occupational health and safety, wellness, quality and excellence
John Speers, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services
In this plenary, John Speers provides a comparative overview of the standards, certifications and awards that an organization may use in its pursuit of occupational health and safety, wellness, quality and excellence. He also provides perspectives from his own organization's experiences, including why and how it has used certifications and awards, and what limitations and benefits were discovered.
IWH Speaker Series
Regional trends in work-related injury and illness, Ontario 2004-2008
Andrea Chambers, Institute for Work & Health; Cameron Mustard, Institute for Work & Health
Existing surveillance work has documented a parallel decline in work-related injuries and illness over the period 2004-2008 in two administrative data sources: emergency department visits and workers’ compensation lost-time claims. This plenary reports on a cross-sectional, observational study based on these administrative records, for occupationally active adults age 15+ in Ontario. Work injuries were classified to one of five economic regions and to eight categories defining the event of the injury. Percentage change in counts of visits or claims were estimated over the period 2004-2008. Although the two data sources document generally consistent work-related injury/illness trends in incidence by region and by injury event, there are unexplained differences in the regional incidence of compensation claims and emergency department visits.
IWH Speaker Series
Development of a prediction rule to determine time away from work
Ivan Steenstra, Institute for Work & Health
Identifying workers at high risk for longer duration away from work following a workplace injury is very appealing. In this plenary, Dr. Steenstra discusses how the research team developed a prediction rule to determine time away from work based on data readily available through Ontario workers’ compensation records augmented with data from the Readiness for Return to Work (R-RTW) cohort study.
IWH Speaker Series
Bearing the brunt: Co-workers’ experiences of work reintegration processes
Debra Dunstan, University of New England, Australia
Recent legislative changes in Australia parallel those of other nations and require employers to take increased responsibility for the return to work of injured employees. In this context, work disability research has found co-worker support to be important to work reintegration success. This plenary provides insights into the experience of co-workers who have worked alongside returning injured workers. It is based on a qualitative pilot study that was conducted in Toronto in 2011.
IWH Speaker Series
Understanding “under-reporting” in occupational health and safety
Joan Eakin, University of Toronto; Dana Howse, University of Toronto; Linn Holness, Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease
Under-reporting of occupational health problems can have significant consequences including under-estimation of the occupational injury and disease burden, sub-optimal prevention and treatment, reduced access for workers to compensation, and displacement of costs from the compensation system to the public health system. But to date we do not have sufficient understanding of why and how under-reporting occurs. This plenary discusses a project that took this issue on and set the stage for future research investigation by examining key concepts, stakeholders’ language and logic, new potential units of analysis and determinants, and the socio-politics of doing research in this area.
IWH Speaker Series
Supervisors’ perspectives on work accommodation: The case of cancer
Ziv Amir, University of Salford, UK
With improvement in diagnosis, treatment and survival rates, returning to work after cancer is of increasing importance to individuals and employers. However, studies looking at work and employment in cancer survivors indicate areas of uncertainty and lack of information. The contradictory nature of the findings and dependence on cultural factors suggest further work is needed. In this plenary, Dr. Amir presents the findings from two recent UK surveys, both of which suggest that employers/supervisors need to be provided with support and resources that help them facilitate employment and job retention for individuals diagnosed with cancer.
IWH Speaker Series
Occupational exposure to ultraviolet radiation: Current knowledge and future challenges
Thomas Tenkate, Ryerson University
As virtually everyone is exposed to the sun on a daily basis, ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an important environmental health hazard. Additionally, there are many occupations that receive substantial exposures to either natural UV or UV from artificial sources. Even though the adverse effects of UV exposure have been well known for some time, there is still much that we don't know about occupational UV exposure. In the occupational setting, managing the risk of occupational UV exposure is particularly challenging. This plenary will discuss the current state of knowledge and some key risk management challenges relating to occupational exposure to UV.
IWH Speaker Series
Implementing a global ergonomics program and metric system at Magna International Inc.
Gary Au, Magna International
The topic of this plenary is the new metric system and set of ergonomics criteria launched across 120 North American plants in 2007 and another 136 plants later in Europe and Asia. The new structure ensured a more systematic and robust method for identifying and reducing ergonomic risk in all plants. A central database increased the ease of sharing information. In 2011, Magna received the Ergonomic Innovation Award from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) for the this newly developed database system.
IWH Speaker Series
Measuring workplace psychological health and safety
John Oudyk, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc.
How do you measure stress in the workplace? For the last two years, a working group of health, safety and compensation representatives, the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) and academic researchers have evaluated a strategy to measure psychosocial risk factors in the workplace. Using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), the working group piloted the survey at several conferences and workplaces. In this plenary, John Oudyk, an occupational hygienist at OHCOW, reports on the findings from these surveys and demonstrates the working group’s tool kit.