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
- Developing a framework for understanding and measuring OHS vulnerability. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Ontario Leading Indicators Project. Completed.
Publications
- Wong IS, Smith PM, Mustard C, Gignac MA. Work-injury absence and compensation among partnered and lone mothers and fathers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2014;57(8):960-969. doi:10.1002/ajim.22351.
- Kosny A, MacEachen E, Lifshen M, Smith PM. Another person in the room: using interpreters during interviews with immigrant workers. Qualitative Health Research. 2014;24(6):837-845. doi:10.1177/1049732314535666.
- Smith PM. Potentially misleading conclusions: job strain and health behaviors. American Journal of Public Health. 2014;104(3):E4-E5. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301758.
- Smith PM, Black O, Keegel T, Collie A. Are the predictors of work absence following a work-related injury similar for musculoskeletal and mental health claims?. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2014;24(1):79-88. doi:10.1007/s10926-013-9455-8.
- Kosny A, Lifshen M, Smith PM, Saunders R. Prevention is the best medicine. Development of a work and health toolkit for new immigrants using settlement services in Ontario. Perspectives interdisciplinaires sur le travail et la sante. 2014;16(2):42749.
Speaker Series presentations
- Refining estimates of occupational exposures and risk of workplace COVID-19 transmission. IWH Speaker Series. January 16, 2024.
- Building on the past, looking to the future: Presenting the IWH Strategic Plan, 2023-27. IWH Speaker Series. May 23, 2023.
- Workplace COVID-19 protections and transmission: Findings from population-level data in Canada. IWH Speaker Series. October 19, 2021.
- Differences in the return-to-work process for work-related psychological and musculoskeletal conditions: findings from an Australian cohort. IWH Speaker Series. April 6, 2021.
- More than just COVID-19 prevention: Exploring the links between PPE, safe work protocols and workers' mental health. IWH Speaker Series. November 10, 2020.
Interviews and articles
- Injuries at work may increase risk of losing one's job. Reuters Health. February 5, 2016. Available from: http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-workplace-injury-idUKKCN0VE2MW
- Distinct types of OHS vulnerability seen in young, temporary, small business employees. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 82, Fall 2015.
- The vulnerable worker. OOHNA Journal . October 27, 2015. Available from: https://www.iwh.on.ca/sites/iwh/files/oohna_journal_fw_2015_vulnerability.pdf
- Line blurred between lost-time, no lost-time claims: Study. Canadian Occupational Safety: Thomson Reuters Canada (Toronto, ON). September 15, 2015. Available from: http://www.cos-mag.com/safety/safety-stories-exclusive/4664-line-blurred-between-lost-time-no-lost-time-claims-study.html
- Study: Time-loss injuries may depend on work demands, premium rates. Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News: Business Information Group (Toronto, ON). April 24, 2015. Available from: https://www.ohscanada.com/study-time-loss-injuries-may-depend-on-work-demands-premium-rates-2/