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
- Exploring how daily patterns of sleep and activity affect the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality among Canadian workers . Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research . Ongoing.
- Exploring where Canadians work and live and their association with active transportation. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Future-proofing young Canadians with disabilities for the changing labour market. Funded by New Frontiers in Research Fund (a Tri-Agency Program—CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC). Ongoing.
- Intelligent machines and human worker inequities: examining the implications of AI in the workplace. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC); Future Skills Centre. Ongoing.
- Occupational injury risks in Ontario. Funded by Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Franche RL, Murray E, Ibrahim S, Smith PM, Carnide N, Cote P, Gibson J, Koehoorn M. Examining the impact of worker and workplace factors on prolonged work absences among Canadian nurses. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2011;53(8):919-927. doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e3182255dea.
- Chen C, Smith PM, Mustard C. The prevalence of over-qualification and its association with health status among occupationally active new immigrants to Canada. Ethnicity and Health. 2010;15(6):601-619. doi:10.1080/13557858.2010.502591.
- Mustard C, Bielecky A, Etches J, Wilkins R, Tjepkema M, Amick B, Smith PM, Gnam W, Aronson KJ. Suicide mortality by occupation in Canada, 1991-2001. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 2010;55(6):369-376.
- Smith PM, Stock S, McLeod CB, Koehoorn M, Marchand A, Mustard C. Research opportunities using administrative databases and existing surveys for new knowledge in occupational health and safety in Canada, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia [commentary]. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2010;101(1):S46-S52.
- Wu JSY, Beaton DE, Smith PM, Hagen NA. Patterns of pain and interference in patients with painful bone metastases: a brief pain inventory validation study. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2010;39(2):230-240. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.07.006.
Speaker Series presentations
- Reporting and consequences of workplace violence in six Ontario hospitals. IWH Speaker Series. May 22, 2018.
- Towards a better understanding of differences in the risk of workplace violence for men and women in Canada. IWH Speaker Series. March 27, 2018.
- Evaluating the impact of mandatory awareness training in Ontario. IWH Speaker Series. April 11, 2017.
- Understanding return to work in MSD claims versus psychological injuries, for younger workers versus older workers. IWH Speaker Series. September 29, 2015.
- Developing a measure of OHS vulnerability. IWH Speaker Series. January 20, 2015.
Interviews and articles
- IWH research on vulnerable workers leads to tool for measuring risk factors. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 80, Spring 2015.
- Premium rates, work demands play role in whether injuries involve time loss . At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 79, Winter 2015.
- IWH to explore how work affects health of women and men differently. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 78, Fall 2014.
- Chronic conditions worsen outcomes for injured older workers, but not by much. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 76, Spring 2014.
- Heart disease, arthritis, diabetes raise risk of leaving workforce. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 74, Fall 2013.