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
- Risk factors for work injury among youth: a systematic review. Funded by Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Completed.
Publications
- Breslin FC, Pole JD, Tompa E, Amick B, Smith PM, Hogg-Johnson S. Antecedents of work disability absence among young people: a prospective study. Annals of Epidemiology. 2007;17(10):814-820. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2007.04.004.
- Tompa E, Dolinschi R, de Oliveira C, Irvin E. Systematic review of OHS interventions with economic evaluations: full report. Institute for Work & Health; 2007.
- Tompa E, Dolinschi R, de Oliveira C, Irvin E. Systematic review of OHS interventions with economic evaluations: appendices. Institute for Work & Health; 2007.
- Breslin FC, Tompa E, Zhao R, Amick B, Pole JD, Smith PM, Hogg-Johnson S. Work disability absence among young workers with respect to earnings losses in the following year. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. 2007;33(3):192-197.
- Alamgir H, Tompa E, Koehoorn M, Ostry A, Demers P. Hospital costs of treating work-related sawmill injuries in British Columbia. Injury. 2007;38(5):631-639. doi:10.1016/j.injury.2006.10.004.
Speaker Series presentations
- Skills development barriers for persons with disabilities and the promising practices to address them. IWH Speaker Series. April 18, 2023.
- Development and implementation of a framework for estimating the economic benefits of an accessible and inclusive society. IWH Speaker Series. February 8, 2022.
- Introducing the new CSA standard for work disability management systems. IWH Speaker Series. February 4, 2020.
- Estimating the economic burden of work injuries and illnesses in the European Union. IWH Speaker Series. November 12, 2019.
- An impact analysis of two silica dust exposure reduction strategies. IWH Speaker Series. November 6, 2018.
Interviews and articles
- Work disability research centre supports the development of new standard, and more. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 86, Fall 2016.
- Penalties work: Citations and fines can reduce work injuries. Canadian Safety Reporter: Thomson Reuters Canada (Toronto, ON). November 1, 2016. Available from: http://www.safety-reporter.com/articleview/28081-penalties-work-citations-and-fines-can-reduce-workplace-injuries
- Government inspections and fines lead to safer workplaces, researchers claim. Safety + Health: U.S. National Safety Council (Itasca, IL). September 7, 2016. Available from: http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/14639-government-inspections-and-fines-lead-to-safer-workplaces-researchers-claim
- OHS inspections with penalties effectively reduce work injuries: IWH. Canadian Occupational Safety: Thomson Reuters Canada (Toronto, ON). September 6, 2016. Available from: http://cos-mag.com/legal/legal-stories/5225-ohs-inspections-with-penalties-effectively-reduce-work-injuries-iwh.html
- New cases of mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer in one year cost $1.9B. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 85, Summer 2016.