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 presentations

9 Nov 2021

Uncovering the impact of a depressive episode on employment earnings of Canadian workers

Kathleen Dobson, Institute for Work & Health

Despite much attention being paid to the employment outcomes of Canadians experiencing depression, we still know little about the long-term impact of depression on their work earnings. In this presentation, IWH Associate Scientist Kathleen Dobson shares findings from her novel study using data linkages to uncover the impact of a depressive episode on employment earnings over a decade.

Past presentations

19 Oct 2021

Workplace COVID-19 protections and transmission: Findings from population-level data in Canada

Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health

From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health strategies to reduce the spread of the coronavirus recognized workplaces as a potential site of transmission. However, there remain large information gaps about workplace COVID-19 protection practices and COVID-19 transmission at work. In this presentation, Dr. Peter Smith shares findings from two recently completed studies from a collaboration between the Institute for Work & Health and Public Health Ontario. The first describes the type and prevalence of infection control practices at work sites that continued to operate. The second study estimates rates of COVID-19 cases due to workplace outbreaks across industry groups in Ontario between April 2020 and March 2021.

28 Sep 2021

Estimating the nature and extent of claim suppression in British Columbia's workers' compensation system

Ron Saunders, Institute for Work & Health; John O'Grady, Prism Economics and Analysis

To what extent are workers in British Columbia pressured or induced to not report or claim benefits for their work-related injuries and illnesses? A study on the nature and extent of claim suppression in B.C. was recently conducted by Institute for Work & Health and Prism Economics and Analysis. In this presentation, study co-leads Dr. Ron Saunders and John O'Grady share what they found.

8 Jun 2021

What can hospital emergency records tell us about the incidence of work-related traumatic injuries in Ontario?

Cameron Mustard, Institute for Work & Health

Every year, hospital emergency departments in Ontario treat an average of 100,000 cases of work-related injuries or illnesses. What can the records of these cases tell us about the reporting of work-related injuries and illnesses to Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)? In this presentation, Dr. Cameron Mustard shares findings from research comparing WSIB claims data with records of hospital emergency department visits over a fifteen-year period (2004-2017).

11 May 2021

The health paradox of physically demanding work: What is it and should we be concerned?

Aviroop Biswas, Institute for Work & Health

Emerging research describes a physical activity paradox: physically demanding work characterized by heavy lifting, repetitive exertion and awkward body postures can increase a worker’s risk of cardiovascular conditions and mortality, going against our well-known understanding of the health benefits associated with regular physical activity during leisure time. Dr. Aviroop Biswas explains what we know so far about this physical activity paradox and shares findings from his own research about the paradox among Canadian workers.

6 Apr 2021

Differences in the return-to-work process for work-related psychological and musculoskeletal conditions: findings from an Australian cohort

Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health

Many workers’ compensation agencies across Canada have begun accepting claims for chronic mental stress that results from work. In other jurisdictions where psychological claims have been accepted, such types of claims have been linked with greater costs and longer time off compared to physical claims. The potential reasons for these differences have not been well understood. In this IWH Speaker Series presentation, Dr. Peter Smith presents findings from a cohort study of 869 workers’ compensation claimants in the Australian state of Victoria. He highlights differences between the two groups of claimants (psychological and musculoskeletal) in their experiences of the claim and return-to-work processes, and discusses lessons for Canadian jurisdictions.

See all past presentations