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
- Hackett C, Feeny D, Tompa E. Canada's residential school system: measuring the intergenerational impact of familial attendance on health and mental health outcomes. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2016;70(11):1096. doi:10.1136/jech-2016-207380.
- Tompa E, Kalcevich C, McLeod CB, Lebeau M, Fong D, McLeod K, Kim J, Demers P. Economic burden of lung cancer and mesothelioma in Canada due to occupational asbestos exposure (2016). Institute for Work & Health; 2016.
- Tompa E, Kalcevich C, Foley M, McLeod CB, Hogg-Johnson S, Cullen KL, MacEachen E, Mahood Q, Irvin E. A systematic literature review of the effectiveness of occupational health and safety regulatory enforcement. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2016;59(11):919-933. doi:10.1002/ajim.22605.
- Tompa E, McLeod CB, Mustard C. A comparative analysis of the financial incentives of two distinct experience-rating programs. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2016;58(7):718-727. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000754.
- Tompa E, de Boer H, Macdonald S, Alamgir H, Koehoorn M, Guzman J. Stakeholders' perspectives about and priorities for economic evaluation of health and safety programs in healthcare. Workplace Health & Safety. 2016;64(4):163-174. doi:10.1177/2165079915620201.
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
- What’s next for RAACWI?. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 68, Spring 2012.
- Assessing the adequacy of workers’ comp benefits for permanently disabled workers. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 64, Spring 2011.
- Leading indicators may pinpoint positive differences in OHS practices. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 63, Winter 2011.
- IWH provides expertise to Ministry of Labour panel. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 62, Fall 2010.
- Easy-to-use tool measures benefits and costs of OHS initiatives. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 59, Winter 2010.