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
- Developing a framework for measuring culture change related to accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities . Funded by Employment and Social Development Canada. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- ECHO PSP: Piloting the use of the ECHO model to promote recovery and return-to-work among public safety personnel in Ontario. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Ongoing.
- Evidence-informed workplace policies and practices for the prevention of PTSI work disability. Funded by Government of Alberta. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Financial incentives to promote employment of people with disabilities: when and how they work best. Funded by Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Future-focused job accommodation practices for the school-to-work transition. Funded by Accessibility Standards Canada (Government of Canada). Ongoing.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
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
- 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.