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
- Cost to Canadians of excluding people with disabilities from the labour market . Funded by Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Estimating the financial benefits of OHS prevention expenditures: a study of Ontario employers. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Completed.
- 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. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Assessing the human and economic burden of workplace cancer in Canada. Funded by Canadian Cancer Society. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Best practices for work disability prevention management systems: a scoping review in support of new Canadian standard. Completed. (PI on the project)
Publications
- lahey P, Kirsh B, Tompa E, MacDermid J, Gewurtz RE. The Ontario Disability Support Program work exit process: parallels to a hostage negotiation. Journal of Disability Policy Studies. 2021;32(3):182-92. doi:10.1177/1044207320944609.
- 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.
- 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.
- Yazdani A, Tompa E. Managing work disability using a new Canadian standard. OOHNA Journal. 2020;39(4):7-10. doi:.
- Lahey PM, Kirsh B, MacDermid JC, Tompa E, Gewurtz R. Active labour market policies for people with disabilities in receipt of public income benefits: a scoping review. Work. 2019;64(2):229-247. doi:10.3233/WOR-192989.
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
- Research on silica exposure controls finds PPE comes at a cost. Workers Health & Safety Centre. December 7, 2018. Available from: https://www.whsc.on.ca/What-s-new/News-Archive/Research-on-silica-exposure-controls-finds-PPE-com
- What research can do: IWH estimate of societal costs helps Ottawa make case for asbestos ban. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 93, Summer 2018.
- Benefits outweigh costs for workplaces that accommodate people with mental illness. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 93, Summer 2018.
- IWH study estimates costs of non-melanoma skin cancers due to sun exposure at work . At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 92, Spring 2018.
- Hidden costs of skin cancer caused by workplace sun exposure revealed. Science Daily. April 26, 2018. Available from: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180426085524.htm