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
- Smith PM, Beaton DE. Measuring change in psychosocial working conditions: methodological issues to consider when data are collected at baseline and one follow-up time point. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2008;65(4):288-295. doi:10.1136/oem.2006.032144.
- Cote P, Kristman VL, Vidmar M, Van Eerd D, Hogg-Johnson S, Beaton DE, Smith PM. Prevalence and incidence of work absenteeism involving neck pain: a cohort of Ontario lost-time claimants. Spine. 2008;33(4):S192-S198. doi:10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181644616.
- Smith PM, Polanyi M. Understanding the health of work. Institute for Work & Health; 2008.
- Smith PM, Frank JW, Mustard C. Monitoring and surveillance of the psychosocial work environment in Canada: a forgotten determinant of health. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2008;99(6):475-482.
- Smith PM, Frank JW, Bondy SJ, Mustard C. Do changes in job control predict differences in health status? Results from a longitudinal national survey of Canadians. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2008;70(1):85-91. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e31815c4103.
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
- Psychosocial work conditions linked with both positive and negative mental health. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 97, Summer 2019.
- Workplace violence against women rising, driven by growing rates in education sector. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 96, Spring 2019.
- Women’s work more likely than men’s to be disrupted due to caring for older relatives. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 96, Spring 2019.
- Implications of an aging workforce for work injury, recovery, returning to work and remaining at work. OOHNA Journal. April 10, 2019. Available from: https://www.iwh.on.ca/sites/iwh/files/oohna_journal_fw_2019_agingrtw.pdf
- Supportive supervisors help reduce risks when workers face hazards, lack protection . At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 95, Winter 2019.