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
- Breslin FC, Koehoorn M, Smith PM, Manno M. Age related differences in work injuries and permanent impairment: a comparison of workers' compensation claims among adolescents, young adults, and adults. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2003;60(9):E10-. doi:10.1136/oem.60.9.e10.
- Smith PM, Polanyi M. Social norms, social behaviours and health: an empirical examination of a model of social capital. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2003;27(4):456-463. doi:10.1111/j.1467-842X.2003.tb00426.x.
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
- OHS vulnerability as defined by IWH tool linked to self-reported injury rates. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 87, Winter 2017.
- Increased OHS vulnerability linked to higher rates of self-reported injury: study. Canadian Occupational Safety: Thomson Reuters (Toronto, ON). January 16, 2017. Available from: http://www.cos-mag.com/personal-process-safety/32225-increased-ohs-vulnerability-linked-to-higher-rates-of-self-reported-injury-study/
- Returning to work after a mental health work injury. OOHNA Journal. November 8, 2016. Available from: https://www.iwh.on.ca/sites/iwh/files/oohna_journal_fw_2016_psychological_rtw.pdf
- Key differences found in return-to-work process for MSD and psychological claims. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 85, Summer 2016.
- New worker, higher risk. Safety + Health: U.S. National Safety Council (Itasca, IL). June 1, 2016. Available from: http://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/14053-new-workers-higher-risk