Dr. Peter Smith
Dr. Peter Smith is president and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Toronto, and a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Prior to moving into the president's role in January 2022, Smith was IWH's scientific co-director.
Smith has a master's in public health from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and a PhD from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. He is a former recipient of a New Investigator Award (2008-2013) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR),a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Research Council (2012-2014), and a five-year CIHR Research Chair in Gender, Work and Health (2014-2018).
Smith has extensive experience conducting research related to work injury and its consequences using large population-based surveys and administrative workers' compensation data. His key research interests include: gender and sex differences in the relationship between work and health; labour market inequalities and their health-related outcomes; labour market experiences of newcomers, older workers, younger workers and other vulnerable labour force subgroups; chronic illnesses and work injury; and trends in working conditions over time.
“I don’t understand how people can think about health without thinking about work. Between our early 20s and our 60s – and later for some people – we spend most of our waking hours at work. It makes sense, then, that aspects of work must have an impact on different aspects of our health, both positively and negatively. That drives me to better understand what good work and bad work look like from a health and return-to-work perspective.” – Dr. Peter Smith
Projects
- How RTW differs for workers with psychological injuries, older workers. Funded by Australian Research Council. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Inter-jurisdictional comparison of OHS and workers’ compensation system performance. Funded by Manitoba Workers Compensation Board. Completed.
- Role of employers and settlement agencies in safe employment integration. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Measuring occupational health and safety vulnerability in Alberta . Funded by OHS Futures Alberta. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Understanding the employment needs and experiences of baby boomers with arthritis and diabetes. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Completed.
Publications
- Carnide N, Landsman V, Lee H, Frone MR, Furlan AD, Smith PM. Workplace and non-workplace cannabis use and the risk of workplace injury: findings from a longitudinal study of Canadian workers. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2023;114(6):947-955. doi:10.17269/s41997-023-00795-0.
- Jetha A, Bakhtari H, Rosella LC, Gignac MA, Biswas A, Shahidi FV, Smith BT, Smith MJ, Mustard C, Khan N, Arrandale VH, Loewen PJ, Zuberi D, Dennerlein JT, Bonaccio S, Wu N, Irvin E, Smith PM. Artificial intelligence and the work-health interface: a research agenda for a technologically transforming world of work. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2023;66(10):815-830. doi:10.1002/ajim.23517.
- Carnide N, Nadalin V, Mustard C, Severin C, Furlan AD, Smith PM. Cannabis use among workers with work-related injuries and illnesses: results from a cross-sectional study of workers' compensation claimants in Ontario, Canada. BMJ Open. 2023;13(7):e072994. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072994.
- Morassaei S, Smith PM, Wilson K, Ghahari S. Comparing the life satisfaction of older immigrants and refugees to Canadian-born older adults: the role of immigrant admission classes. Clinical Gerontologist. 2023 epub ahead of print. doi:10.1080/07317115.2023.2212660.
- Macpherson RA, Amick B, Collie A, Koehoorn M, Smith PM, McLeod CB. Do regional labor market conditions matter for temporary work disability duration? A multilevel analysis of workers' compensation claims in five Canadian provinces. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2023;66(8):637-654. doi:10.1002/ajim.23489.
Speaker Series presentations
- Refining estimates of occupational exposures and risk of workplace COVID-19 transmission. IWH Speaker Series. January 16, 2024.
- Building on the past, looking to the future: Presenting the IWH Strategic Plan, 2023-27. IWH Speaker Series. May 23, 2023.
- Workplace COVID-19 protections and transmission: Findings from population-level data in Canada. IWH Speaker Series. October 19, 2021.
- Differences in the return-to-work process for work-related psychological and musculoskeletal conditions: findings from an Australian cohort. IWH Speaker Series. April 6, 2021.
- More than just COVID-19 prevention: Exploring the links between PPE, safe work protocols and workers' mental health. IWH Speaker Series. November 10, 2020.
Interviews and articles
- Work-related mental illnesses cost more than physical injuries do. Talent Canada. May 11, 2021. Available from: https://www.talentcanada.ca/work-related-mental-illnesses-cost-more-than-physical-injuries/
- What research can do: Workplace COVID outbreaks reported by Ontario public health account for one in 20 cases in working-age adults. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 103, Winter 2021.
- Ontario locks down on Boxing Day, but essential workers still work. Without protections like paid sick leave, it just won’t work. Inside Halton. December 23, 2020. Available from: https://www.insidehalton.com/opinion-story/10296074-ontario-locks-down-on-boxing-day-but-essential-workers-still-work-without-protections-like-paid-sick-leave-it-just-won-t-work/
- Study links inadequate PPE, COVID-19 infection controls to worker mental health issues. Safety + Health. December 14, 2020. Available from: https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/20630-study-links-inadequate-ppe-covid-19-infection-controls-to-worker-mental-health-issues
- Unsafe workplaces during COVID-19 taking huge toll on workers’ mental health. Toronto Star. December 14, 2020. Available from: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/12/14/unsafe-workplaces-during-covid-19-taking-huge-toll-on-workers-mental-health.html