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
- Costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths in the European Union. Funded by European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Extended working life and its interaction with health, wellbeing and quality of life: a multi-country initiative (THRIVE). Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Completed.
- Evaluating the impact of mandatory awareness training on occupational health and safety vulnerability in Ontario. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Ministry of Labour's Research Opportunities Program. Completed.
- Analyzing the adequacy of benefits among workers’ compensation claimants in Ontario, 1999-2005. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Employer investments in occupational health and safety: establishing benchmarks for Ontario. Funded by Ontario Ministry of Labour Research Opportunities Program. Completed.
Publications
- 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.
- Mustard C, Tompa E, Landsman V, Lay M. What do employers spend to protect the health of workers?. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health. 2019;45(3):308-311. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3778.
- Scott KA, Fisher GG, Baron AE, Tompa E, Stallones L, DiGuiseppi C. The associations between falls, fall injuries, and labor market outcomes among U.S. workers 65 years and older. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2018;60(10):943-953. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001379.
- Riano-Casallas MI, Tompa E. Cost-benefit analysis of investment in occupational health and safety in Colombian companies. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2018;61(11):893-900. doi:10.1002/ajim.22911.
- Oldfield M, Gewurtz R, Tompa E, Harlos K, Kirsh B, Lysaght R, Macdougall A, Moll S, Rueda S, Sultan-Taieb H. Improving workplaces to enable people living with mental illness to stay in their jobs. OOHNA Journal. 2018;37(1):46-49.
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