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
- Understanding the use and impact of early opioid prescriptions for work-related low-back pain. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, WorkSafeBC. Completed.
- Effectiveness of interventions to address depression in the workplace: a systematic review. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Completed. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Furlan AD, Pajer KA, Gardner W, MacLeod B. Project ECHO: Building capacity to manage complex conditions in rural, remote and underserved areas. Canadian Journal of Rural Medicine. 2019;24(4):115-120. doi:10.4103/CJRM.CJRM_20_18.
- Sandhu HK, Abraham C, Alleyne S, Balasubramanian S, Betteley L, Booth K, Carnes D, Furlan AD, Haywood K. Testing a support programme for opioid reduction for people with chronic non-malignant pain: the I-WOTCH randomised controlled trial protocol. BMJ Open. 2019;9(8):e028937. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-028937.
- Carnide N, Hogg-Johnson S, Koehoorn M, Furlan AD, Cote P. Relationship between early prescription dispensing patterns and work disability in a cohort of low back pain workers' compensation claimants: a historical cohort study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2019;76(8):573-581. doi:10.1136/oemed-2018-105626.
- Kosny A, Lifshen M, MacEachen E, Furlan AD, Koehoorn M, Beaton DE, Cooper J, Neis B. What are physicians told about their role in return to work and workers' compensation systems? An analysis of Canadian resources. Policy and Practice in Health and Safety. 2018;17(1):78-89. doi:10.1080/14773996.2018.1465264.
- Kosny A, Lifshen M, Yanar B, Tonima S, MacEachen E, Furlan AD, Koehoorn M, Beaton DE, Cooper J, Neis B. The role of healthcare providers in return to work. International Journal of Disability Management. 2018;13:e3. doi:10.1017/idm.2018.4.
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
- Telementoring program helps doctors and other frontline health-care providers handle challenging return-to-work cases. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 113, Summer 2023.
- Rethinking Pain - A CRAM Ideas Podcast episode. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. , . Available from: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Z4rxPSjKJN0jTJfAsqaql
- IWH hosts new program to mentor Ontario’s frontline doctors in occupational medicine. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 105, Summer 2021.
- Cochrane back group earns high praise for its rigorous systematic reviews. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 102, Fall 2020.
- IWH review outlines promising strategies to prevent prescribed opioid abuse. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 94, Fall 2018.