Dr. Amir Mofidi
Amir Mofidi is a post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Work & Health.
Mofidi earned his PhD in occupational health economics at Tarbiat Modares University (TMU) in Iran. Mofidi also has a master’s degree in industrial hygiene and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.
Mofidi's doctoral research explored the development of a framework for economic evaluations of OHS interventions under uncertain conditions and/or with incomplete information. Mofidi joined the Institute as a visiting researcher in 2017, while completing his PhD, to work on an evaluation of prevention strategies for reducing the future risk of occupational lung cancer in the Ontario construction industry. He also worked on an evaluation of the economic burden of occupational injury and illness in five European Union (EU) countries, and an economic evaluation of caregiver-friendly workplace policies.
Mofidi’s current research at the Institutes lies at the intersection of occupational health and safety and economics. It includes workplace and system-level economic studies such as the estimation of the economic burden of occupational injuries and illnesses, the economic evaluation of OHS interventions, and the socio-economic burden of work disability.
“Moral, legal and economic reasons are usually considered the primary motives for investing in occupational health and safety. My research looks at the economic and social costs and benefits of occupational health and safety, as I believe rigorous research on their magnitude can help inform priority-setting when investing scarce resources. Many of the indirect and intangible benefits of workplace health and safety are not well documented and, through my work, I can help bring to light this hidden part of the costs-and-benefits iceberg.” – Dr. Amir Mofidi
Research areas
Projects
- Evaluating prevention strategies to reduce the risk of work-related cancers in Ontario’s construction sector. Funded by European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Ongoing.
- Assessing the human and economic burden of workplace cancer in Canada. Funded by Canadian Cancer Society. Completed.
- Costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths in the European Union. Funded by European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Completed.
Publications
- Mofidi A, Tompa E, Song C, Tenkate T, Arrandale V, Jardine J, Davies H, Demers PA. Economic evaluation of interventions to reduce solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure among construction workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene. 2021;18(6):250-264. doi:10.1080/15459624.2021.1910278.
- Tompa E, Mofidi A, van den Heuvel S, van Bree T, Michaelsen F, Jung Y, Porsch L, van Emmerik M. Economic burden of work injuries and diseases: a framework and application in five European Union countries. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):49. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-10050-7.
- Tompa E, Mofidi A, Jetha A, lahey P, Buettgen A. Development and implementation of a framework for estimating the economic benefits of an accessible and inclusive society. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. 2021 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1108/EDI-07-2020-0186.
- Mofidi A, Tompa E, Mortazavi SB, Esfahanipour A, Demers P. A probabilistic approach for economic evaluation of occupational health and safety interventions: a case study of silica exposure reduction interventions in the construction sector. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):210. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-8307-7.
- Mofidi A, Tompa E, Williams AM, Yazdani A, Lero DS, Mortazavi SB. Impact of a caregiver-friendly workplace policies intervention: a prospective economic evaluation. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2019;61(6):461-468. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001564.
Speaker Series presentations
- Estimating the economic burden of work injuries and illnesses in the European Union. IWH Speaker Series. November 12, 2019.
Interviews and articles
- Work-related skin cancer among construction workers set to double by 2060. Daily Commercial News. July 21, 2021. Available from: https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/ohs/2021/07/work-related-skin-cancer-among-construction-workers-set-to-double-by-2060
- Costs of providing UV ray protection at job sites outweighed by averted skin cancers. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 104, Spring 2021.
- Comparing the costs, benefits of silica dust prevention methods for construction workers. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 101, Summer 2020.
- Estimating the societal costs of work injuries and illnesses in five EU countries. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 99, Winter 2020.
- Raising awareness about caregiver supports results in savings for employer: study. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 97, Summer 2019.