Dr. Emile Tompa
Dr. Emile Tompa is a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. He holds appointments as an associate professor in the Department of Economics at McMaster University and as an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.
Tompa is a labour and health economist with an MBA from the University of British Columbia, an MA in economics from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in economics from McMaster University.
Tompa’s research interests include the consequences of occupational health and safety system design on the health and well-being of individuals and populations, the economic evaluation of workplace interventions for improving the health and well-being of workers, the economic burden of adverse health conditions and disability, and the analysis of disability policy systems. Most recently, Tompa received a six-year funding envelope as the nominated principal applicant from the New Frontiers in Research Fund Transformation Stream for a social innovation laboratory called Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA). The initiative is focused on skilling up employers to advance their abilities to tap into diverse talent pools, with a focus on persons with disabilities.
“How to get the most for the least, that’s the basis for economics. I am interested in analyzing issues related to occupational health and safety and work disability prevention and management from the standpoint of this basic challenge.” – Dr. Emile Tompa
Projects
- Policies and practices on the accommodation of people with visible disabilities in the workplace . Funded by Employment and Social Development Canada. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Breakthrough change: understanding why and how workplaces make large improvements in OHS performance. Funded by Workplace Safety & Insurance Board of Ontario's Research Advisory Committee, Ontario Ministry of Labour. Completed.
- Developing a framework for understanding and measuring OHS vulnerability. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Completed.
- Occupational health and safety interventions with economic evaluations: a systematic review. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Factors associated with occupational disease among young people: a systematic review. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Completed.
Publications
- van Dongen JM, van Wier MF, Tompa E, Bongers PM, van der Beek AJ, van Tulder MW, Bosmans JE. Trial-based economic evaluations in occupational health: principles, methods, and recommendations. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2014;56(6):563-572. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000165.
- Scott-Marshall H, Tompa E, Wang Y, Liao Q. Long-term mortality risk in individuals with permanent work-related impairment. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2014;105(5):e330-e335.
- Guzman J, Ibrahimova A, Tompa E, Koehoorn M, Alamgir H. Nonwage losses associated with occupational injury among health care workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2013;55(8):910-916. doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e31828dc9ea.
- Tompa E, Dolinschi R, Natale J. Economic evaluation of a participatory ergonomics intervention in a textile plant. Applied Ergonomics. 2013;44(3):480-487. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2012.10.019.
- Tompa E, Mustard C. Adequacy of workers’ compensation benefits: supplemental report . Institute for Work & Health; 2013.
Speaker Series presentations
- Systematic review of the effectiveness of OHS regulatory enforcement. IWH Speaker Series. May 5, 2015.
- Income security and labour-market engagement: Envisioning the future of work disability policy in Canada. IWH Speaker Series. February 11, 2014.
- Work disability trajectories under three workers' compensation programs. IWH Speaker Series. April 2, 2013.
- The impact of temporary employment and job tenure on sickness absence. IWH Speaker Series. May 4, 2010.
Interviews and articles
- What’s next for RAACWI?. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 68, Spring 2012.
- Assessing the adequacy of workers’ comp benefits for permanently disabled workers. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 64, Spring 2011.
- Leading indicators may pinpoint positive differences in OHS practices. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 63, Winter 2011.
- IWH provides expertise to Ministry of Labour panel. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 62, Fall 2010.
- Easy-to-use tool measures benefits and costs of OHS initiatives. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 59, Winter 2010.