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
- Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED): A partnership to deliver workplace resources to sustain employment of people with chronic, episodic conditions. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada Signature Initiative. Ongoing.
- Artificial intelligence and occupational injury and illness in Ontario: implications for prevention and recovery. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Ongoing.
- Assessing the psychosocial work environment in British Columbia to inform prevention activities . Funded by Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD), WorkSafeBC. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Cannabis and workplace fatalities: establishing a baseline in Ontario. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Correcting for participation bias in non-probability samples using multiple reference samples. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Dobson KG , Mustard C, Carnide N, Furlan AD, Smith PM. Association of persistent pain with the incidence of chronic conditions following a disabling work-related injury. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health. 2023;49(5):330-340. doi:10.5271/sjweh.4096.
- Biswas A, Chen C, Prince SA, Smith PM, Mustard C. Daily accelerometer-measured physical activity patterns and associations with cardiometabolic health among Canadian working adults. Health Reports. 2023;34(3):15-29. doi:10.25318/82-003-x202300300002-eng.
- Gignac MA, Bowring J, Tonima S, Franche RL, Thompson A, Jetha A, Smith PM, MacDermid JC, Shaw WS, Van Eerd D, Beaton DE, Irvin E, Tompa E, Saunders R. A sensibility assessment of the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT): a tool to help workers with an episodic disability plan workplace support. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2023;33(1):145-159. doi:10.1007/s10926-022-10057-4.
- Jetha A, Shamaee A, Tompa E, Smith PM, Bultmann U, Bonaccio S, Tucker LB, Norman C, Banks CG, Gignac MA. The future of work in shaping the employment inclusion of young adults with disabilities: a qualitative study. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. 2023;42(9):75-91. doi:10.1108/EDI-06-2022-0154.
- Dobson KG , Vigod SN, Mustard C, Smith PM. Parallel latent trajectories of mental health and personal earnings among 16- to 20 year-old US labor force participants: a 20-year longitudinal study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2023;58(5):805-821. doi:10.1007/s00127-022-02398-5.
Speaker Series presentations
- Examining gender/sex differences in work injury risk, consequences of work injury and the relationship between work stress and chronic disease. IWH Speaker Series. October 14, 2014.
- The impact of job strain on the risk of depression. IWH Speaker Series. October 25, 2011.
- Examining changes in injuries submitted as no-lost-time claims in Ontario between 1991 and 2006. IWH Speaker Series. October 12, 2010.
- Examining trends in no-lost-time claims in Ontario, 1991-2006. IWH Speaker Series. March 31, 2009.
- An examination of the working conditions and risk factors for work-related injuries among immigrant workers in Ontario. IWH Speaker Series. February 3, 2009.
Interviews and articles
- Work-related mental illnesses cost more than physical injuries do. Talent Canada. May 11, 2021. Available from: https://www.talentcanada.ca/work-related-mental-illnesses-cost-more-than-physical-injuries/
- What research can do: Workplace COVID outbreaks reported by Ontario public health account for one in 20 cases in working-age adults. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 103, Winter 2021.
- Ontario locks down on Boxing Day, but essential workers still work. Without protections like paid sick leave, it just won’t work. Inside Halton. December 23, 2020. Available from: https://www.insidehalton.com/opinion-story/10296074-ontario-locks-down-on-boxing-day-but-essential-workers-still-work-without-protections-like-paid-sick-leave-it-just-won-t-work/
- Study links inadequate PPE, COVID-19 infection controls to worker mental health issues. Safety + Health. December 14, 2020. Available from: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20630-study-links-inadequate-ppe-covid-19-infection-controls-to-worker-mental-health-issues
- Unsafe workplaces during COVID-19 taking huge toll on workers’ mental health. Toronto Star. December 14, 2020. Available from: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/12/14/unsafe-workplaces-during-covid-19-taking-huge-toll-on-workers-mental-health.html