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
- Validation study of Occupational Stress Injury Resiliency Tool. Funded by Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD), Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- What are the long-term health and labour market outcomes of workers who experienced work-related COVID-19 transmission?. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Do work exposures and their effects differ for men and women? A systematic review. Funded by WorkSafeBC. Completed.
- Improving information on the incidence of work-related injuries and illnesses in Ontario. Funded by Ontario Ministry of Labour Research Opportunities Program . Completed.
- Developing recommendations for an integrated approach to workplace health protection and health promotion. Funded by Alberta OHS Future. Completed.
Publications
- Smith PM, Chen C, Mustard C. Differential risk of employment in more physically demanding jobs among a recent cohort of immigrants to Canada. Injury Prevention. 2009;15(4):252-258. doi:10.1136/ip.2008.021451.
- Smith PM, Beaton DE. Re: 'Changes in perceived job strain and the risk of major depression: results from a population-based longitudinal study' [Letter to the editor]. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2009;170(1):131-132. doi:10.1093/aje/kwp147.
- Cote P, Kristman VL, Vidmar M, Van Eerd D, Hogg-Johnson S, Beaton DE, Smith PM. The prevalence and incidence of work absenteeism involving neck pain: a cohort of Ontario lost-time claimants. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2009;32(2):S219-S226. doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2008.11.022.
- Smith PM, Mustard C. Comparing the risk of work-related injuries between immigrants to Canada, and Canadian-born labour market participants. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2009;66(6):361-367. doi:10.1136/oem.2007.038646.
- LaMontagne AD, Smith PM, Louie AM, Quinlan M, Shoveller J, Ostry A. Unwanted sexual advances at work: variations by employment arrangement in a sample of working Australians. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2009;33(2):173-179. doi:10.1111/j.1753-6405.2009.00366.x.
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 in education sector at greater risk of workplace violence. Canadian Occupational Safety. August 31, 2018. Available from: https://www.cos-mag.com/psychological-health-safety/37860-women-in-education-sector-at-greater-risk-of-workplace-violence/
- Work-related stressors impact women and men differently, research finds. Workers Health & Safety Centre. August 28, 2018. Available from: https://www.whsc.on.ca/what-s-new/news-archive/work-related-stressors-impact-women-and-men-differ
- Sex/gender analysis: Are risks of violence at work higher for men or women? It depends on type of violence. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 93, Summer 2018.
- Sex/gender analysis: Links between psychosocial work factors and stress not always as expected. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 93, Summer 2018.
- Working overtime could raise women's diabetes risk. U.S. News & World Report. July 2, 2018. Available from: https://health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2018-07-02/working-overtime-could-raise-womens-diabetes-risk