Past events
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IWH Speaker Series
Perspectives on using occupational health and safety research
Dwayne Van Eerd, Institute for Work & Health
What can we learn from people in occupational health and safety (OHS) about their access to, and use of, OHS research? In this plenary, Institute for Work & Health associate scientist Dwayne Van Eerd discusses findings from a study of OHS knowledge users, including factors that help or hinder their use of OHS research in decision making.
IWH Speaker Series
Health impact of commuting among new immigrants in precarious jobs
Stephanie Premji, McMaster University
What commuting challenges do new immigrants in precarious jobs face, and how do these challenges in turn affect their employment prospects? In this plenary, Dr. Stephanie Premji shares results of a qualitative study on new immigrants working in precarious jobs and the commuting issues they face, including the health impact of those commutes.
IWH Speaker Series
How North American companies can improve workplace safety when outsourcing overseas
Hasanat Alamgir, University of Texas School of Public Health
There are about 4,000 garment factories in Bangladesh, employing 4 million, mostly young women, in harsh conditions with minimal or non-existent workplace health and safety regulations and policies. In this presentation, Dr. Hasanat Alamgir looks at the actions and responsibilities of local and Western stakeholders and outlines the progress made so far. He also shares findings of recent research on fire safety knowledge and awareness among workers and on the health status and disability of the survivors of the 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse.
IWH Speaker Series
Pain and prejudice: What science can learn about work from the people who do it
Karen Messing, Université du Québec à Montréal
Dr. Karen Messing, professor emeritus of ergonomics at the Université du Québec à Montréal, talks about her latest book, Pain and Prejudice: What Science Can Learn about Work from the People Who Do It. In her book, Messing reflects on her 35 years as a researcher in occupational health in Canada. She suggests that many current mechanisms for the support and publication of research prevent scientists from expressing and even experiencing empathy with injured workers. The resulting empathy gap can affect the quality of occupational health science, as well as its ability to prevent damage to workers' health.
IWH Speaker Series
Model of safety inspections
Kathryn Woodcock, Ryerson University
Although safety inspectors play a key role in safety management systems, there has been little scholarly research on how they do their jobs. In this plenary, Dr. Kathryn Woodcock presents a model of safety inspections developed through her study of safety inspections of amusement park rides and discusses strategies to support inspectors and help their knowledge acquisition.
IWH Speaker Series
Developing a measure of OHS vulnerability
Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health
The term "vulnerability" is used increasingly in occupational health and safety (OHS) in Ontario. Although certain groups in the labour market (e.g. younger workers, temporary workers or immigrants) are often labelled as “vulnerable workers,” there is very little discussion about what the broader workplace and occupational factors are that lead to increased risk of injury among these groups, and whether these risk factors are similar across the groups. In this plenary, Dr. Peter Smith, a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health, provides an overview of the conceptual framework of OHS vulnerability. He also shares preliminary findings from a survey capturing different dimensions of OHS vulnerability across a sample of workers in Ontario and British Columbia.
IWH Speaker Series
Understanding independent medical assessments (IMA) in workers' compensation systems
Agnieszka Kosny, Institute for Work & Health
Independent medical assessors play a key role in many workers' compensation boards (WCBs), conducting investigations on a range of issues, from medical diagnosis to extent and duration of disability. In this plenary, Institute for Work & Health Scientist Dr. Agnieszka Kosny shares findings from her study on the use of independent medical assessments across 17 jurisdictions in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. She also highlights challenges from the perspectives of policy-makers and service providers, and discusses ways the use of independent medical assessments could be improved.