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
- Transitioning to the future of work: an intersectional study of vulnerable youth and young adults. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Ongoing.
- Trends in the severity of work-related injury in Ontario. Funded by Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD). Ongoing.
- Understanding the activity patterns of Canadians at work and outside of work, and their association with overall health. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Ongoing.
- Understanding the injury experience of Ontario small businesses through workers’ compensation claims data. Funded by Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD). Ongoing.
- Using decision-tree machine learning to identify worker movement typologies . Ongoing.
Publications
- Smith PM, Mustard C. The unequal distribution of occupational health and safety risks among immigrants to Canada compared to Canadian-born labour market participants: 1993-2005. Safety Science. 2010;48(10):1296-1303. doi:10.1016/j.ssci.2010.03.020.
- Morassaei S, Smith PM. Switching to daylight saving time and work injuries in Ontario, Canada: 1993-2007. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2010;67(12):878-880. doi:10.1136/oem.2010.056127.
- Breslin FC, Smith PM. A commentary on the unique developmental considerations of youth: integrating the teenage cortex into the occupational health and safety context [commentaries]. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. 2010;16(2):225-229.
- Mustard C, Kalcevich C, Steenstra I, Smith PM, Amick B. Disability management outcomes in the Ontario long-term care sector. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2010;20(4):481-488. doi:10.1007/s10926-010-9248-2.
- Mustard C, Bielecky A, Etches J, Wilkins R, Tjepkema M, Amick B, Smith PM, Aronson KJ. Avoidable mortality for causes amenable to medical care, by occupation in Canada, 1991-2001. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2010;101(6):500-506.
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
- Women four times more likely to experience sexual assault at work. The Conversation. January 22, 2019. Available from: https://theconversation.com/women-four-times-more-likely-to-experience-sexual-assault-at-work-108380
- Sitting or standing too much at work? New video addresses ways to lower associated health risks. Safety + Health. December 27, 2018. Available from: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/17906-sitting-or-standing-too-much-at-work-new-video-addresses-ways-to-lower-associated-health-risks
- Developing a new screening tool of psychosocial hazards . At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 94, Fall 2018.
- Slight improvements seen in workplace psychosocial conditions over 10 years. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 94, Fall 2018.
- Longer hours linked to diabetes risk in women: Study. Canadian HR Reporter. November 7, 2018. Available from: https://www.hrreporter.com/workplace-health-and-wellness/38516-longer-hours-linked-to-diabetes-risk-in-women-study/