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.
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. Most recently, Tompa received a six-year funding envelope as the nominated principal applicant from the New Frontiers in Research Fund Transformation Stream for a social innovation laboratory called Inclusive Design for Employment Access (IDEA). The initiative is focused on skilling up employers to advance their abilities to tap into diverse talent pools, with a focus on persons with disabilities.
“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
- Cost to Canadians of excluding people with disabilities from the labour market . Funded by Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Estimating the financial benefits of OHS prevention expenditures: a study of Ontario employers. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Completed.
- Evaluating prevention strategies to reduce the risk of work-related cancers in Ontario’s construction sector. Funded by European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Assessing the human and economic burden of workplace cancer in Canada. Funded by Canadian Cancer Society. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Best practices for work disability prevention management systems: a scoping review in support of new Canadian standard. Completed. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Tompa E, Trevithick S, McLeod CB. Systematic review of the prevention incentives of insurance and regulatory mechanisms for occupational health and safety. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. 2007;33(2):85-95.
- Breslin FC, Tompa E, Mustard C, Zhao R, Smith PM, Hogg-Johnson S. Association between the decline in workers' compensation claims and workforce composition and job characteristics in Ontario, Canada. American Journal of Public Health. 2007;97(3):453-455. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2005.083873.
- Alamgir H, Tompa E, Koehoorn M, Ostry A, Demers P. Costs and compensation of work-related injuries in British Columbia sawmills. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2007;64(3):196-201. doi:10.1136/oem.2006.027193.
- Breslin FC, Day D, Tompa E, Irvin E, Bhattacharyya S, Clarke J, Wang A. Non-agricultural work injuries among youth: a systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2007;32(2):151-162. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2006.10.007.
- Alamgir H, Tompa E, Demers P, Koehoorn M, Ostry A. Accuracy of injury coding in a Canadian workers compensation system. Journal of Occupational Health and Safety - Australia and New Zealand. 2007;23(4):349-355.
Speaker Series presentations
- 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.
- Work disability trajectories under three workers' compensation programs. IWH Speaker Series. April 2, 2013.
- The impact of temporary employment and job tenure on sickness absence. IWH Speaker Series. May 4, 2010.
Interviews and articles
- Manufacturer learns participatory ergonomics worth the investment. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 72, Spring 2013.
- Mental health suffers among workers permanently impaired by job injury. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 72, Spring 2013.
- Research finds safety and operations can enhance each other. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 71, Winter 2013.
- Fall symposium addresses injury prevention and financial incentives. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 70, Fall 2012.
- Experience rating focuses on post-injury practices, IWH study suggests. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 68, Spring 2012.