Steenstra I
Dr. Ivan Steenstra
Associate Scientist
PhD, Department of Public and Occupational Health, VU Medical Center
Dr. Ivan Steenstra earned his PhD in the Netherlands, where he worked as a human movement specialist. That’s comparable to being a kinesiologist in Canada, he says. “The department where I did my training was social sciences and work and health oriented, so my training is much like that of a work and health psychologist, but with a more physical orientation.”
He left the Netherlands to accept the Mustard Fellowship at the Institute for Work & Health, and has since been appointed as an associate scientist.
A dominant research interest for Dr. Steenstra is low-back pain. He says he first became aware of the complex health and labour issues surrounding this form of pain while working a summer job in a warehouse. “My supervisor suffered from chronic low-back pain and had to take sick leave,” he recalls. “I realized then that this was more than a medical issue.”
Today, Dr. Steenstra is working to predict the duration of low-back pain for different workers. “By sub-grouping or categorizing low-back pain, we might be better able to determine how long the pain will last and what to do about it,” he explains. He is also working with international colleagues to develop a screening tool to identify the risk of developing long-term low-back pain for different workers.
Looking forward, Dr. Steenstra hopes to conduct additional research into the return-to-work process. In particular, he would like to learn more about the effectiveness of case management and communications strategies among stakeholders in the return-to-work process.
Bio Sketch
Dr. Ivan Steenstra is an associate scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. Steenstra comes from the Netherlands. He obtained a masters degree in human movement sciences work and health from the University of Groningen and a masters degree in epidemiology at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. He completed his PhD at the Institute for Extramural Research (EMGO), Department of Public and Occupational Health at the VU Medical Center. Steenstra was the recipient of IWH’s Mustard Fellowship in Work Environment and Health from 2006-2008.
Steenstra’s research interests focus on return to work and musculoskeletal pain, with an emphasis on determining prognosis and tailoring interventions to achieve a fast and safe return to work.
Current Projects
Developing a prediction rule for end of benefits and recurrences based on data provided to the WSIB by workplaces, workers and healthcare professionals
Buddies in bad times: The role of co-worker support on RTW, a qualitative study
A systematic review on prognosis of RTW in workers with prolonged work disability because of low back pain (new project funded by WCB Manitoba as a follow up on the one on the acute phase)
5000 Firms study
Development of a triage decision-making tool for the rehabilitation of injured workers with the department of physiotherapy at the University of Alberta in Edmonton
Selected Publications
Steenstra I, Irvin E, Mahood Q, Hogg-Johnson S. Systematic review of prognostic factors for workers’ time away from work due to acute low-back pain: An update of a systematic review: Final report to Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, August 2011.
Mustard CA, Kalcevich C, Steenstra IA, Smith P, Amick B. Disability management outcomes in the Ontario long-term care sector. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 2010;20(4):481-288.
Steenstra IA, Ibrahim SA, Franche RL, Hogg-Johnson S, Shaw WS, Pransky GS. Validation of a risk factor-based intervention strategy model using data from the readiness for return to work cohort study. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 2009;20(3):394-405.
Ammendolia C, Cassidy D, Steenstra I, Soklaridis S, Boyle E, Eng S, et al. Designing a workplace return-to-work program for occupational low back pain: An intervention mapping approach. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2009;10:65.
Steenstra IA, Knol DL, Bongers PM, Anema JR, van Mechelen W, de Vet HC. What works best for whom?: An exploratory, subgroup analysis in a randomized, controlled trial on the effectiveness of a workplace intervention in low back pain patients on return to work. Spine, 2009;34(12):1243-9.