Dr. Emile Tompa
Dr. Emile Tompa is a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. He holds appointments as an associate professor in the Department of Economics at McMaster University and as an assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. He is also director of the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy, a seven-year initiative funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant.
Tompa is a labour and health economist with an MBA from the University of British Columbia, an MA in economics from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in economics from McMaster University.
Tompa’s research interests include the consequences of occupational health and safety system design on the health and well-being of individuals and populations, the economic evaluation of workplace interventions for improving the health and well-being of workers, the economic burden of adverse health conditions and disability, and the analysis of disability policy systems.
“How to get the most for the least, that’s the basis for economics. I am interested in analyzing issues related to occupational health and safety and work disability prevention and management from the standpoint of this basic challenge.” – Dr. Emile Tompa
Projects
- Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED): A partnership to deliver workplace resources to sustain employment of people with chronic, episodic conditions. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada Signature Initiative. Ongoing.
- Assessing the human and economic burden of workplace cancer in Canada. Funded by Canadian Cancer Society. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy: Envisioning the future of disability policy in Canada. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Cost to Canadians of excluding people with disabilities from the labour market . Funded by Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Developing a Canadian work disability standard for paramedics with post-traumatic stress injury. Funded by Commissioned by The County of Renfrew with funding from Defence Research and Development Canada, Centre for Security Science (DRDC CSS) under Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP). Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of DRDC CSS/CSSP. . Ongoing. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Gignac MA, Bowring J, Jetha A, Beaton DE, Breslin FC, Franche RL, Irvin E, MacDermid JC, Shaw WS, Smith PM, Thompson A, Tompa E, Van Eerd D, Saunders R. Disclosure, privacy and workplace accommodation of episodic disabilities: organizational perspectives on disability communication-support processes to sustain employment. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2021;31(1):153-165. doi:10.1007/s10926-020-09901-2.
- Tompa E, Mofidi A, van den Heuvel S, van Bree T, Michaelsen F, Jung Y, Porsch L, van Emmerik M. Economic burden of work injuries and diseases: a framework and application in five European Union countries. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):49. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-10050-7.
- lahey P, Kirsh B, Tompa E, MacDermid J, Gewurtz RE. The Ontario Disability Support Program work exit process: parallels to a hostage negotiation. Journal of Disability Policy Studies. 2020 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1177/1044207320944609.
- Mofidi A, Tompa E, Mortazavi SB, Esfahanipour A, Demers P. A probabilistic approach for economic evaluation of occupational health and safety interventions: a case study of silica exposure reduction interventions in the construction sector. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):210. doi:10.1186/s12889-020-8307-7.
- Lahey PM, Kirsh B, MacDermid JC, Tompa E, Gewurtz R. Active labour market policies for people with disabilities in receipt of public income benefits: a scoping review. Work. 2019;64(2):229-247. doi:10.3233/WOR-192989.
Speaker Series presentations
- Introducing the new CSA standard for work disability management systems. IWH Speaker Series. February 4, 2020.
- Estimating the economic burden of work injuries and illnesses in the European Union. IWH Speaker Series. November 12, 2019.
- An impact analysis of two silica dust exposure reduction strategies. IWH Speaker Series. November 6, 2018.
- Systematic review of the effectiveness of OHS regulatory enforcement. IWH Speaker Series. May 5, 2015.
- Income security and labour-market engagement: Envisioning the future of work disability policy in Canada. IWH Speaker Series. February 11, 2014.
Interviews and articles
- Impact of COVID, and signs of progress, in the spotlight at disabilities and work conference. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 103, Winter 2021.
- Comparing the costs, benefits of silica dust prevention methods for construction workers. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 101, Summer 2020.
- Strategy launched for greater workforce inclusion of people with disabilities. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 99, Winter 2020.
- Estimating the societal costs of work injuries and illnesses in five EU countries. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 99, Winter 2020.
- What research can do: IWH researchers help MPs examine episodic disabilities and work issues. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 98, Fall 2019.