Past events

18 Apr 2017

IWH Speaker Series

New World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on rehabilitation in health systems

Andrea Furlan, Institute for Work & Health

In February of this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report titled Rehabilitation in health systems, which includes nine recommendations to improve rehabilitation services around the world. The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) played a key role in the development of these recommendations, being one of three research organizations contracted by WHO to canvas the evidence on the best ways to strengthen and expand the availability of quality rehabilitation services. While the report primarily targets low- and middle-income countries, as noted by Dr. Andrea Furlan, lead researcher of the IWH evidence-gathering team contracted by WHO, “the recommendations resonate in Canada as well, given that rehabilitation plays an important role in keeping people in an aging population independent for longer, and helping people with chronic and acute injuries participate in school and work.” At this plenary, Dr. Furlan and Emma Irvin (also on the IWH research team) discuss the WHO’s recommendations for improving rehabilitation services globally, as well as the evidence behind them.

11 Apr 2017

IWH Speaker Series

Evaluating the impact of mandatory awareness training in Ontario

Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health

In this presentation, Dr. Peter Smith shares the results of a study that examined differences in the level of self-reported occupational health and safety (OHS) awareness and empowerment among employed workers in Ontario before and after the introduction of the mandatory OHS training. He also discusses the implications of the results for future province-wide initiatives focusing on the primary prevention of work-related injuries and illnesses.

4 Apr 2017

IWH Speaker Series

Doctors and workers’ compensation: how system design shapes doctors’ roles

Katherine Lippel, University of Ottawa

How are the roles of doctors in the workers’ compensation system different in Quebec and Ontario? In this plenary, Professor Katherine Lippel shares findings from a qualitative and comparative regulatory study, conducted in both provinces, to examine the impact of regulatory contexts on the roles and practices of doctors and other players in the system.

28 Feb 2017

IWH Speaker Series

Have we learned enough for workplace Parkinson's disease prevention?

Anne Harris, Syme Fellow, Institute for Work & Health; Ryerson University

We currently don't fully understand why some people develop Parkinson's disease as they age while others do not. Since genetic inheritance accounts for a very small proportion of cases, researchers have been interested in environmental causes, including workplace exposures. In this plenary, epidemiologist Dr. Anne Harris talks about the evidence for or against several candidate risk factors, including pesticides, head injury, and whole body vibration.

7 Feb 2017

IWH Speaker Series

Health-care providers and their role in return to work

Agnieszka Kosny, Institute for Work & Health

Research around the world has shown that health-care providers have a key role in the return-to-work (RTW) process. However, pressure on consultation time, administrative challenges and limited knowledge about a patient’s workplace can thwart meaningful engagement. In a two-year study conducted in four Canadian provinces, Dr. Agnieszka Kosny focused on the experiences of health-care providers within the workers’ compensation system and their role in the RTW process. She shares her findings in this plenary.

22 Nov 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Life course concepts in the work experiences of people with arthritis

Arif Jetha, Institute for Work & Health

Arthritis is one of the most common causes of work disability in Canada. Among those with arthritis, three in five are in their working years (ages 18 to 65 years). Yet, little research has looked into the work experiences of young and middle-aged adults with arthritis. In this plenary, Dr. Arif Jetha shares his research examining the impact of important life transitions on the work experiences of young, middle-aged and older adults with arthritis.

15 Nov 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Return to work not a single event: applying new methods and data to understand RTW

Christopher McLeod, Institute for Work & Health

Returning to work after a work injury can be a complex process involving multiple episodes of time-loss. In this plenary, Dr. Christopher McLeod looks at newly available detailed calendar data on RTW among injured workers with accepted time-loss claims in British Columbia. He outlines how this data can be used to identify distinct clusters of RTW trajectories and highlights key demographic, clinical and work characteristics that may be associated with shorter and/or longer and more complex trajectories. He also explores the relevance of these data and methods in identifying effective interventions that can improve RTW outcomes.

8 Nov 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Managing safety and operations: The effect of joint management system practices on safety and operational outcomes

Lynda Robson, Institute for Work & Health

Can best practices in manufacturing and occupational safety be complementary or even synergistic? Or is there necessarily a trade-off between the two? What practices are important for achieving high performance in both manufacturing operations and safety? Dr. Lynda Robson presents results from an inter-disciplinary mixed-method research project. She highlights the “joint management system practices” associated with positive effects on both operational outcomes (e.g. product quality) and safety outcomes.

1 Nov 2016

IWH Speaker Series

What are physicians told about their role in return to work?

Agnieszka Kosny, Institute for Work & Health

Physicians have an important role in the return to work (RTW) process, but research shows that they sometimes struggle to manage RTW consultations and help patients return to work after an injury. As part of a broader exploration into the role played by doctors in RTW, an IWH team led by Dr. Agnieszka Kosny sought to examine resources, policies and guidelines that have been developed for physicians by workers’ compensation boards, governments and other organizations across Canada. In this plenary, Kosny highlights resource gaps that may hinder physicians’ understanding of their roles and responsibilities in the workers' compensation system and RTW process, and which may ultimately delay workers’ RTW after injury.

25 Oct 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Whole-body vibration: What can we do to reduce this known health risk?

Jim Dickey, Western University

Whole-body vibration (WBV) is a significant health risk for four to seven per cent of the workforce, primarily operators of heavy mobile vehicles. Negative health outcomes are associated with excessive vibration exposure, including lower-back pain, spinal degeneration, gastro-intestinal tract problems, sleep problems, headaches, neck problems, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, hearing loss, and nausea. In this plenary, Dr. Jim Dickey describes two approaches that have been successfully used to evaluate seating in heavy mobile machinery. He also shares why optimized seating should be considered for some workplaces.

14 Oct 2016

Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture

A celebration of Wolfgang Zimmermann and the work of NIDMAR

With presentations by Joachim Breuer, Andrew King, The Honourable Wayne G. Wouters and Wolfgang Zimmerman
The Institute for Work & Health’s 2016 Nachemson lecture celebrates the important work of Wolfgang Zimmermann and the organization he leads. Three people who have worked closely with Zimmermann will talk about his important contribution both in Canada and beyond to improving the circumstances of people with disabilities in the working world.

24 May 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Sleep dysfunction in mild traumatic brain injury: relevance to work disability prevention

Tatyana Mollayeva, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto

Sleep disturbance is a common problem experienced by those with mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI). While the disruption subsides relatively quickly for some, up to half of those with mild TBI report chronic sleep disturbances—which in turn can seriously impair day-to-day function and return to work. In this plenary, Dr. Tatyana Mollayeva discusses the relationship between sleep and relevant clinical and non-clinical factors as well as outcomes in a sample of Ontario workers with mild TBI. She also presents known risks for sleep dysfunction in mild TBI and the implications for work disability prevention.

17 May 2016

IWH Speaker Series

The health of truck drivers: Moving forward with a program of applied health research

Philip Bigelow, University of Waterloo

Studies conducted in the U.S. and other countries have shown that truck drivers are at increased risk for such medical conditions as cardiovascular disorders, sleep apnea, diabetes and obesity. Drivers have multiple risk factors associated with these conditions such as high rates of smoking, poor diet and low levels of physical activity. In this plenary, Dr. Philip Bigelow discusses a two-phase program of research that examines the prevalence of driving-related chronic diseases and risk factors among Canadian truck drivers, and proposes an intervention to improve their health and wellness.

10 May 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Measuring OHS vulnerability among new immigrants

Morgan Lay, Institute for Work & Health

While previous research has identified that recent immigrants are at increased risk of work injury and illness, little is known about the specific mechanisms that lead to this elevated risk. In this plenary, Institute for Work & Health (IWH) research associate Morgan Lay presents preliminary results from a recent IWH collaboration with settlement agencies to better understand the workplace and social contexts that lead to increased risk of work injury among new immigrants.

26 Apr 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Integrating ergonomics into production system design processes for reduced risk and improved quality: Lessons from the field

Patrick Neumann, Ryerson University

While integrating ergonomics into the process of designing production systems has been seen as the so-called Holy Grail for injury prevention, it has not proven to be easy. In this plenary Dr. Patrick Neumann presents lessons from an "action research" project at Blackberry, aimed at learning how to achieve such integration into the engineering design process. He provides a conceptual framework for considering this process of change, as well as practical methods and tools that were applied in the case to gain buy-in from key stakeholders.

8 Mar 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Measuring precarity and its impact on health

Wayne Lewchuk, McMaster University

How do researchers measure the impact of precarious work on health indicators, including physical and mental health? How do they tease out the interaction between poverty, precarious employment and health outcomes? In this plenary, Dr. Wayne Lewchuk talks about the survey data collected by the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario (PEPSO) research group in 2011 and 2014. He compares the Employment Precarity Index developed by this group with the data collected by Statistics Canada on temporary employment, and highlights in particular how crude measures of precarity can lead to misleading conclusions regarding the impact of insecure employment on health outcomes.

23 Feb 2016

IWH Speaker Series

DASHBash: Celebrating 20 years of the DASH Outcome Measure

Dorcas Beaton, Institute for Work & Health; Carol Kennedy, Institute for Work & Health

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Outcome Measure. In 1996, when the DASH was developed by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), no measure had previously existed to assess the disability and function of the arm, shoulder and hand as a whole. Today, this outcome measure is used across the world in 55 languages and dialects. It has also been cited in about 1,500 journal articles. The DASHBash year kicks off with this seminar that highlights the achievements of this “little tool that grew.” This presentation reviews the conceptual foundations of the DASH, summarizes how the DASH is being used and how it is performing, and addresses some frequently asked questions from our users.

2 Feb 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Examining occupational health and safety among migrant farm workers

Theresa Aversa, Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Agricultural work is hazardous for all workers, but migrant farm workers are especially vulnerable. Because their status in Canada hinges on their employment, they live under the shadow of a particular kind of job insecurity, one that may compromise their right to workplace health and safety and to workers' compensation. In this plenary, Theresa Aversa examines OHS vulnerability among migrant workers under two different programs: the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) and the Temporary Foreign Workers Program. She shares findings from her research, drawn primarily from interviews with advocates and system stakeholders, and from participant observation at advocate-organized events. She also discusses what the findings suggest as possible avenues to improved health and safety of migrant workers.

19 Jan 2016

IWH Speaker Series

Agricultural work, food systems and ecosystems: reflections on a research program

Donald Cole, University of Toronto

Agricultural work is performed around the world at a huge range of scales and in a wide variety of ecosystems—from small plots to extensive holdings, from semi-deserts to lush jungles and low-lying wetlands. Tremendous change is taking place, both in terms of how agricultural commodity and labour markets are regulated, and how ecosystems are affected by climate change. How do work and health researchers develop an understanding of the evolving relationships between agricultural work and health, given all these different contexts? In this plenary, Dr. Donald Cole draws on many decades of work and shares reflections on how a research program can address this and related questions.

8 Dec 2015

IWH Speaker Series

Stealth ergonomics: Incorporating MSD prevention into organizations' goals and systems

Richard Wells, Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD)

The prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) has often been treated as a purely occupational health and safety issue. While this approach has made gains over the past few decades, more can be done. Ergonomics has the dual goals of improving both wellbeing and performance. In this plenary, Dr. Richard Wells shows how both MSD and poor product quality share many risk factors, and by addressing organizational goals of quality within an organizations’ management systems, MSD prevention can result in additional resources, effectiveness and sustainability.