Dr. Lynda Robson
Dr. Lynda Robson is a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health, where she has worked since 1997. She is an adjunct professor in the School of Occupational and Public Health at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is also a member of the Canadian Standards Association Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (Z45001) Technical Committee.
Robson obtained her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Toronto, but later changed fields through additional education at the university's former Graduate Department of Community Health.
Robson's research interests include using both quantitative and qualitative methods to study occupational health and safety (OHS) management, organizational change in OHS and the evaluation of prevention programs, especially OHS training programs.
“The lab research in which I was involved, though ultimately intended to benefit people, was in itself lacking in the social/human dimension. Now, I often study people and their organizations, and more often interact with users of the research, and I find that personally rewarding." – Dr. Lynda Robson
Projects
- IWH Organizational Performance Metric: Developing and evaluating a simple workplace OHS tool. Funded by Workplace Safety & Insurance Board, Ontario Ministry of Labour. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Evaluating an internal responsibility system audit tool for Ontario’s mining sector. Funded by Ontario Ministry of Labour. Completed.
- Implementation of workplace violence legislation in Ontario hospitals. Funded by Ontario Ministry of Labour. Completed.
- Breakthrough change: understanding why and how workplaces make large improvements in OHS performance. Funded by Workplace Safety & Insurance Board of Ontario's Research Advisory Committee, Ontario Ministry of Labour. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Ontario Leading Indicators Project. Completed.
Publications
- Biswas A, Severin C, Smith PM, Steenstra I, Robson LS, Amick B. Larger workplaces, people-oriented culture, and specific industry sectors are associated with co-occurring health protection and wellness activities. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018;15(12):2739. doi:10.3390/ijerph15122739.
- Shevchenko A, Pagell M, Johnston D, Veltri A, Robson LS. Joint management systems for operations and safety: a routine-based perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2018;194:635-644. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.05.176.
- Kosny A, Tonima S, Ferron EM, Mustard C, Robson LS, Gignac MA, Chambers A, Hajee Y. Implementing violence prevention legislation in hospitals: final report. Institute for Work & Health; 2018.
- Kosny A, Tonima S, Ferron EM, Mustard C, Robson LS, Gignac MA, Chambers A. Implementing violence prevention legislation in hospitals: summary. Institute for Work & Health; 2017.
- Robson LS, Ibrahim S, Hogg-Johnson S, Steenstra I, Van Eerd D, Amick B. Developing leading indicators from OHS management audit data: determining the measurement properties of audit data from the field. Journal of Safety Research. 2017;61:93. doi:10.1016/j.jsr.2017.02.008.
Speaker Series presentations
- A model of "breakthrough change" in workplace health and safety performance. IWH Speaker Series. May 13, 2014.
- A systematic review of the effectiveness of training and education for the protection of workers. IWH Speaker Series. March 9, 2010.
Interviews and articles
- Union firms have lower lost-time claim rates, study in ICI construction confirms. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 103, Winter 2021.
- Can an eight-item questionnaire pick up on real-world differences in OHS practice?. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 99, Winter 2020.
- Ontario’s working-at-heights training led to safer practices, reduced injury claims rates. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 96, Spring 2019.
- Regulated working at heights training works and needed: studies. Workers Health & Safety Centre. April 9, 2019. Available from: https://www.whsc.on.ca/What-s-new/News-Archive/Regulated-working-at-heights-training-works-i-and-i-needed-studies
- WAH training standards show 'significant' results: IWH. Daily Commercial News: ConstructConnect (Markham, ON). March 12, 2019. Available from: https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/labour/2019/03/wah-training-standards-show-significant-results-iwh