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
- Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED): A partnership to deliver workplace resources to sustain employment of people with chronic, episodic conditions. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada Signature Initiative. Ongoing.
- Addressing knowledge gaps about skills of persons with disabilities. Funded by Employment and Social Development Canada. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Building disability confidence in Canada’s financial sector . Funded by Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy: Envisioning the future of disability policy in Canada. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Developing a Canadian work disability standard for paramedics with post-traumatic stress injury. Funded by Commissioned by The County of Renfrew with funding from Defence Research and Development Canada, Centre for Security Science (DRDC CSS) under Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP). Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of DRDC CSS/CSSP. . Ongoing. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Williams AM, Tompa E, Lero DS, Fast J, Yazdani A, Zeytinoglu IU. Evaluation of caregiver-friendly workplace policy (CFWPs) interventions on the health of full-time caregiver employees (CEs): implementation and cost-benefit analysis. BMC Public Health. 2017;17(1):728. doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4722-9.
- Lay M, Saunders R, Lifshen M, Breslin FC, LaMontagne AD, Tompa E, Smith PM. The relationship between occupational health and safety vulnerability and workplace injury. Safety Science. 2017;94:85. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2016.12.021.
- Roseboom KJ, van Dongen JM, Tompa E, van Tulder MW, Bosmans JE. Economic evaluations of health technologies in Dutch healthcare decision-making: a qualitative study of the current and potential use, barriers, and facilitators. BMC Health Services Research. 2017;17(1):89. doi:10.1186/s12913-017-1986-9.
- Padkapayeva K, Posen A, Yazdani A, Buettgen A, Mahood Q, Tompa E. Workplace accommodations for persons with physical disabilities: evidence synthesis of the peer-reviewed literature. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2017;39(21):2134. doi:10.1080/09638288.2016.1224276.
- MacEachen E, Du B, Bartel E, Ekberg K, Tompa E, Kosny A, Petricone I, Stapleton J. Scoping review of work disability policies and programs. International Journal of Disability Management. 2017;12(0):1. doi:10.1017/idm.2017.1.
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
- Researchers conclude that OSHA citations, penalties reduce workplace injuries. OSHA QuickTakes: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) (Washington, DC). November 2, 2015. Available from: https://www.osha.gov/as/opa/quicktakes/qt110215.html
- Workers’ comp benefits keep poverty low among permanently impaired workers and their families, study by IWH finds. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 81, Summer 2015.
- Inspections with penalties linked to lower injuries: IWH review. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 81, Summer 2015.
- New research centre to examine work disability policy in Canada. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 75, Winter 2014.
- Lt. Gov. David Onley’s keynote speech at centre launch takes on myths about people with disabilities. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 75, Winter 2014.