Dr. Andrea Furlan
PhD, Clinical Epidemiology, University of Toronto
Dr. Andrea Furlan is a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH). She is also a physician and senior scientist at the KITE Research Institute—the research arm of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute at University Health Network—and a professor in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Physiatry at the University of Toronto. She is chair of ECHO (Extension for Community Health-care Outcomes) Ontario Chronic Pain and Opioid Stewardship at UHN, and co-chair of ECHO Occupational and Environmental Medicine and ECHO for Return to Work of Public Safety Personnel at IWH.
Furlan completed her residency in physiatry at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. She obtained her PhD in clinical epidemiology from the University of Toronto. Her thesis focused on methods to search and analyze non-randomized studies of interventions for low-back pain. She completed a two-year clinical fellowship in physiatry at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Furlan received the Pain Excellence Award in 2020 by the Pain Society of Alberta, and she is the recipient of the 2021 Canadian Pain Society’s Excellence in Pain Mentorship Award.
Her main research interests include rehabilitation medicine, chronic pain, low-back pain and neuropathic pain, with a methodological focus on systematic reviews and meta-analyses. She has over 130 publications in peer-reviewed journals, has written seven book chapters and has been an invited speaker at many local, national and international conferences, and is frequently sought by the media for interviews. During the Covid-19 pandemic she started a Youtube channel to share her knowledge about chronic pain worldwide that has reached more than 620,000 subscribers.
"I spend about 80 per cent of my time as a researcher and 20 per cent as a clinician. The clinical work maintains the relevance of what I do, as well as credibility among my medical peers.” – Dr. Andrea Furlan
Projects
- Cannabis and workplace fatalities: establishing a baseline in Ontario. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Ongoing.
- ECHO PSP: Piloting the use of the ECHO model to promote recovery and return-to-work among public safety personnel in Ontario. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Ontario Life After Work Injury Study: Cannabis use and long-term recovery and return-to-work outcomes among Ontario injured workers. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Ongoing.
- Opioid-related harms among Ontario workers: a surveillance tool. Funded by Public Health Agency of Canada. Ongoing.
- Project ECHO Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM): Implementation and evaluation. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Sandhu HK, Shaw J, Carnes D, Furlan AD, Tysall C, Adjei H, Muthiah C. Development and testing of an opioid tapering self-management intervention for chronic pain: I-WOTCH. BMJ Open. 2022;12(3):e053725. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053725.
- Sud A, Buchman DZ, Furlan AD, Selby P, Spithoff SM, Upshur REG. Chronic pain and opioid prescribing: three ways for navigating complexity at the clinical-population health interface. American Journal of Public Health. 2022;112(1):S56-S65. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2021.306500.
- Ammendolia C, Hofkirchner C, Plener J, Bussières A, Schneider MJ, Young JJ, Furlan AD. Non-operative treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis with neurogenic claudication: an updated systematic review. BMJ Open. 2022;12(1):e057724. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057724.
- Lau J, Mazzotta P, Whelan C, Abdelaal M, Clarke H, Furlan AD, Smith A, Husain A, Fainsinger R, Hui D, Sunderji N, Zimmermann C. Opioid safety recommendations in adult palliative medicine: a North American Delphi expert consensus. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care. 2022;12(1):81-90. doi:10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003178.
- Furlan AD, Irvin E. Conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis in rehabilitation. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2022;101(10):965-974. doi:10.1097/PHM.0000000000001933.
Speaker Series presentations
- New World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on rehabilitation in health systems. IWH Speaker Series. April 18, 2017.
- Systematic review on depression in the workplace. IWH Speaker Series. March 1, 2011.
Interviews and articles
- New systematic review outlines promising strategies to prevent prescribed opioid abuse, overdoses. OOHNA Journal. October 16, 2018. Available from: https://www.iwh.on.ca/sites/iwh/files/oohna_journal_fw_2018_opioid.pdf
- Opioids linked to longer disability leaves. Canadian HR Reporter. June 1, 2018. Available from: https://www.hrreporter.com/workplace-health-and-wellness/37069-opioids-linked-to-longer-disability-leaves/
- 100 million Americans have chronic pain. Very few use one of the best tools to treat it. . Vox. May 17, 2018. Available from: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/5/17/17276452/chronic-pain-treatment-psychology-cbt-mindfulness-evidence
- Marijuana in the workplace: What is unsafe?. The Conversation: The Conversation (Toronto, ON). January 22, 2018. Available from: https://theconversation.com/marijuana-in-the-workplace-what-is-unsafe-89142
- Companies fret about hazy rules around pot use. National Post: Postmedia Network (Toronto, ON). December 14, 2017. Available from: http://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/companies-fret-about-hazy-rules-around-pot-use