Dr. Agnieszka Kosny

Scientist

PhD, Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto

When Dr. Agnieszka Kosny was studying for her master’s degree in Newfoundland, she first experienced how the labour market can have an impact on a person’s health. The cod fishery, which was once part of a robust east coast community, closed and left thousands unemployed.

“There was an economic crisis and I observed first-hand how unemployment can affect a person’s health,” says Dr. Kosny, a qualitative researcher at IWH. Those experiences helped to shape her current interest in research on work and health.

As a scientist, Dr. Kosny is involved in many projects, one of which is leading a study on the experiences of immigrant workers after a work-related injury. “The immigrant population is an important part of the labour force,” she says. “Immigrant workers tend to be more vulnerable than their Canadian-born peers.”

Currently, Dr. Kosny is working to develop a module on occupational health & safety, employment standards and the workers’ compensation system that can be delivered in job search and language training workshops aimed at newcomers. The aim is to get this information to new immigrants as they are entering the Canadian labour market.
 

Bio sketch