Event Description

The Partnership for Work Health and Safety is a 20-year research partnership between the University of British Columbia and WorkSafeBC (the provincial workers compensation regulator). This research partnership primarily uses linked health data to conduct occupational and environmental epidemiology surveillance, linked data cohort studies and policy evaluations. This presentation will highlight some of the key historic studies and their policy impact as well as the current and future evolving research agenda.  Study examples will cover occupational disease surveillance related to asbestos exposure, cancer and respiratory disease.  Examples of current and emerging research will focus on heat exposure in workers and work-related psychological injury and disease.

Speaker Biography

Dr Chris McLeod is the Director of the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety and Associate Professor and Head of the Occupational and Environmental Health Division in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of BC. His research focuses on the program and policy evaluation of occupational health policies and practices and on the causes and consequences of work-related injury and disease. He is currently leading an evaluation of the Health and Safety Excellence program in Ontario that focuses on changing health and safety practices and impact on longer term health and safety outcomes. Other areas of research include an assessment of the effectiveness of occupational health and safety management systems; exploring the effect of COVID-19 policies on violence, bullying and harassment in the service sector in BC and national and international comparative work on return-to-work after work injury. Dr. McLeod has been a CIHR peer reviewer and scientific officer since 2017 and most recently was the chair of the Project Grant Scheme, September 2021 competition.