1. Events

IWH Speaker Series

The IWH Speaker Series is your opportunity to learn about the latest findings from work and health researchers from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and beyond. These live-stream webinars, which typically take place on Tuesdays from 11.00 a.m. to noon EST, allow you to hear about new research directly from the scientist(s) involved, and give you a chance to ask questions about the meaning and interpretation of the findings. For those unable to attend, recorded webinars of most IWH Speaker Series presentations are made available on the related web page within a week of the event.

Upcoming webinars

16 Jan 2024

Refining estimates of occupational exposures and risk of workplace COVID-19 transmission

Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health

The COVID-19 pandemic shone a light on the importance of having accurate data on workplace exposure to infectious diseases. Efforts to estimate infection rates of COVID-19 during the public health emergency were hampered by inadequate information on key factors, such as whether an infected worker had worked from home or interacted with the public. In this presentation, Dr. Peter Smith shares results from a study that examined the risk of work-related COVID-19 infections. He discusses methods used by the team to combine data sources to take into account changes in labour market participation—including working from home—during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recorded webinars

14 Nov 2023

The working life expectancy of Americans experiencing depression

Kathleen Dobson, Institute for Work & Health

Understanding the impact of depression on employment is critical to informing welfare, health, and social services policy. In this presentation, Dr. Kathleen Dobson discusses research on working life expectancy—that is, the number of years an individual can expect to work before permanently leaving the labour force. Dobson talks about the importance of working life expectancy, and shares novel findings from the U.S. about how different courses of depression throughout individuals’ working years impact their working life expectancy from age 30 to 60.

17 Oct 2023

Three scenarios of a future working world: Using strategic foresight to imagine and respond to a changing world of work for young adults living with a disability in Canada

Arif Jetha, Institute for Work & Health

Evolving social, technological, economic, environmental, and political forces are shaping all aspects of our working world. For young adults living with a disability who are entering and working their way up in the labour market, the changing nature of work can create both barriers and opportunities. In this presentation, Dr. Arif Jetha Jetha shares three scenarios or narratives describing the ways things might meaningfully change in the future for young adults with disabilities. He also discusses how these scenarios can be used to develop labour market policies and programs that respond to future needs and promote inclusion for young adults living with a disability.

19 Sep 2023

Is in-person training more effective than online training? Findings from a study of Ontario workers

Lynda Robson, Institute for Work & Health

How does in-person training compare with online training when it comes to knowledge gained and learner engagement? Does the effectiveness of the different training methods vary for different types of workers? In this presentation, Dr. Lynda Robson shares findings from a recent study of Ontario workers who took a Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) certification course. She compares the effects of three methods of training—face-to-face training, instructor-led distance training and self-paced e-learning. She also examines the effects of worker characteristics, such as level of formal education and English as a first language, on training outcomes.

13 Jun 2023

Occupational patterns in opioid-related harms among Ontario workers

Nancy Carnide, Institute for Work & Health; Paul Demers, Occupational Cancer Research Centre

Surveillance systems that monitor opioid-related harms in Canada do not typically collect work information. Limited data on opioid overdose deaths in Canada point to construction and trades workers as the worker groups most affected by the overdose crisis; but we know little else. Through a collaboration between the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) at Ontario Health and the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), a study team has expanded the Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS) to include opioid-related harms. In this presentation, Dr. Nancy Carnide (IWH) and Dr. Paul Demers (OCRC) share findings that have emerged from this unique source of data on a large sample of formerly injured workers.

23 May 2023

Building on the past, looking to the future: Presenting the IWH Strategic Plan, 2023-27  

Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health

Social, technological, environmental, economic and political forces are reshaping workplaces, changing work exposures and affecting the ability of workers to sustain healthy and productive work. For policy-makers, employers and workers, the need has never been greater for reliable and impartial information to help guide the way forward. In this presentation, IWH President Dr. Peter Smith shares the Institute’s priorities and plans for the next five years. Smith will provide an overview of the priority areas for scientific activities at IWH, its plans for new and expanded knowledge transfer and exchange activities, and ways the Institute collaborates with a growing base of partners to build a work and health research ecosystem that responds to the challenges of today and tomorrow.

See all past presentations