Dr. Peter Smith
Dr. Peter Smith is president and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Toronto, and a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Prior to moving into the president's role in January 2022, Smith was IWH's scientific co-director.
Smith has a master's in public health from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and a PhD from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. He is a former recipient of a New Investigator Award (2008-2013) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR),a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Research Council (2012-2014), and a five-year CIHR Research Chair in Gender, Work and Health (2014-2018).
Smith has extensive experience conducting research related to work injury and its consequences using large population-based surveys and administrative workers' compensation data. His key research interests include: gender and sex differences in the relationship between work and health; labour market inequalities and their health-related outcomes; labour market experiences of newcomers, older workers, younger workers and other vulnerable labour force subgroups; chronic illnesses and work injury; and trends in working conditions over time.
“I don’t understand how people can think about health without thinking about work. Between our early 20s and our 60s – and later for some people – we spend most of our waking hours at work. It makes sense, then, that aspects of work must have an impact on different aspects of our health, both positively and negatively. That drives me to better understand what good work and bad work look like from a health and return-to-work perspective.” – Dr. Peter Smith
Projects
- Creating safe workplaces for newcomers. Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Developing approaches to measuring the dimensions of gender and their relationship to health outcomes. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Evaluating the effectiveness of distance learning in delivering Ontario's JHSC certification training. Funded by Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. Ongoing.
- Evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of Ontario’s working-at-heights training standard. Funded by Ontario Ministry of Labour. Ongoing.
- Examining sex/gender differences in exposures to workplace-acquired communicable disease: a systematic review. Funded by WorkSafeBC. Ongoing.
Publications
- Smith PM, Oudyk J, Potter G, Mustard C. Labour market attachment, workplace infection control procedures and mental health: a cross-sectional survey of Canadian non-healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Annals of Work Exposures and Health. 2021;65(3):266-276. doi:10.1093/annweh/wxaa119.
- Orchard C, Carnide N, Smith PM, Mustard C. The association between case manager interactions and serious mental illness following a physical workplace injury or illness: a cross-sectional analysis of workers' compensation claimants Ontario. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2021;31(4):895-902. doi:10.1007/s10926-021-09974-7.
- Mustard C, Smith PM, Landsman V. Improving information on worker health protection in Ontario. Institute for Work & Health; 2021.
- Gignac MA, Bowring J, Jetha A, Beaton DE, Breslin FC, Franche RL, Irvin E, MacDermid JC, Shaw WS, Smith PM, Thompson A, Tompa E, Van Eerd D, Saunders R. Disclosure, privacy and workplace accommodation of episodic disabilities: organizational perspectives on disability communication-support processes to sustain employment. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2021;31(1):153-165. doi:10.1007/s10926-020-09901-2.
- Biswas A, Gilbert-Ouimet M, Mustard C, Glazier RH, Smith PM. Combined associations of work and leisure time physical activity on incident diabetes risk. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2021;60(3):e149-e158. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2020.09.017.
Speaker Series presentations
- Examining gender/sex differences in work injury risk, consequences of work injury and the relationship between work stress and chronic disease. IWH Speaker Series. October 14, 2014.
- The impact of job strain on the risk of depression. IWH Speaker Series. October 25, 2011.
- Examining changes in injuries submitted as no-lost-time claims in Ontario between 1991 and 2006. IWH Speaker Series. October 12, 2010.
- Examining trends in no-lost-time claims in Ontario, 1991-2006. IWH Speaker Series. March 31, 2009.
- An examination of the working conditions and risk factors for work-related injuries among immigrant workers in Ontario. IWH Speaker Series. February 3, 2009.
Interviews and articles
- Workplace violence solutions for schools central to recent ETFO symposium. Workers Health & Safety Centre. February 5, 2020. Available from: https://www.whsc.on.ca/What-s-new/News-Archive/Workplace-violence-solutions-for-schools-central-to-recent-ETFO-symposium
- Protecting minds a priority in changing times . OHS Canada. November 29, 2019. Available from: https://www.ohscanada.com/features/protecting-minds-priority-changing-times/
- Claimants’ perceptions of fair treatment linked to lower odds of poor mental health. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 98, Fall 2019.
- As teachers report more violent incidents in schools, boards struggle. The Globe and Mail. September 7, 2019. Available from: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/education/article-as-teachers-report-more-violent-incidents-in-schools-boards-struggle/
- What research can do: IWH research helps prevention system shift focus from young to new workers. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 97, Summer 2019.