Research Projects Funded in 2001
Management, Work Organization, and Administration Effects on OH&S
Benefits and Costs of Ergonomic Change
The compensation of Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs) accounts for approximately one half of all workers’ compensation costs. Joint health and safety committees, injured workers, engineers, ergonomists, senior management, unions, and others must decide which programs are most effective in combating WMSDs and how best to sustain an effective program of change. This study aims to develop the tools for evaluation and design of work involving the upper extremity, the evaluation of the participative process by which ergonomic change occurs, and the effect of the change process on a variety of outcome measures, including exposures and health.
Results
Principal Investigator: Richard Wells, University of Waterloo
Co-Investigators: Larry Brawley, Mardon Frazer, Robert Norman, Nancy Theberge, Robert Kerton (University of Waterloo); Donald Cole, Mickey Kerr, Harry Shannon, (Institute for Work and Health)
Two Year Funding: $270,756
Managing the Health & Safety Interests of Young Workers in Small Business
This study will help us gain an in-depth understanding of the realities and perceptions of young employees and of small business owners or managers regarding their jobs, training, and safety. The study will use participatory action research with a Manager/Young Worker Advisory Group to provide data, guide the research team and discuss, evaluate, and validate the findings. Researchers will use case studies and interviews. Two large franchisers have agreed to participate. The findings should help the WSIB develop practical interventions and communication strategies tailored to the needs of the small business sector in preventing injuries to young workers.
Principal Investigators: Huguette Blanco, John H. Lewko (Laurentian University)
Co-Investigators: Rolland LeBrasseur, Kate Tilleczek (Laurentian University); Richard Volpe (University of Toronto/Ontario Institute for Studies in Education); Bonnie-Jean Wilson (Ontario Service Safety Alliance)
Two Year Funding: $261, 032
Preventing Young Worker Injuries: Methodological Feasibility Study
This project will pilot a health and safety survey among students at Ryerson University to determine its amenability to statistical analysis in a future full study. The pilot also aims to determine the parameters of the sample that would be needed for a full study. The full study would collect various types of data on post-secondary students to estimate the risk factors for injury of young workers, and attempt a causal model of young worker injuries.
Principal Investigator: Kathryn L. Woodcock (Ryerson University)
Co-Investigators: Maurice Mazerolle (Ryerson University); Carolyn Johnson (Ryerson Working Students’ Centre); Ryerson Working Students’ Centre Steering Committee (Ryerson University)
One Year Funding: $10,683
Towards Best Practices of Functional Assessment: An Innovative Model for Research Dissemination
Traditional passive dissemination of research knowledge to practitioners has limited effect. This study will develop and evaluate a new participatory research dissemination method involving joint researcher-user interaction, collective learning, and collaborative change. The focus is performance-based functional assessments (FA), and the use of FA findings to determine injured workers’ ability to work. The study poses two questions: To what extent can a modified Future Search Process be an effective method for stimulating research transfer and utilization in FA practices? And what is the process’s potential as a model to help develop research-informed common ground and stimulate research-informed decision-making and practice regarding workplace safety and health?
Results
Principal Investigator: Susan A. Strong (McMaster University)
Co-Investigators: Maureen Dobbins, Susan Baptiste, Marcos Costa, Edward Gibson (McMaster University); Michael Polanyi, Judy Clarke (Institute of Work and Health)
Two Year Funding: $253,569
Prevention of Work-Related Injuries
Mobile Mining Equipment Operator Visibility Investigation
Mobile equipment such as Load Haul Dump vehicles (LHDs) and haulage trucks are used extensively in the mining industry. However, the poor operator visibility of these vehicles has led to a number of serious accidents, including fatalities. This study addresses the need to improve operator visibility in haulage trucks and LHDs. A computer simulation tool will be used to evaluate and recommend design guidelines for these vehicles to improve operator visibility.
Results
Principal Investigator: Alan W. Salmoni, Laurentian University
Key Investigators: Tammy Eger, Robert Whissell, Yves Lajoie (Laurentian University); Jim Cluff (Mines & Aggregates Safety & Health Association)
Two Year Funding: $125,620
Reducing Risk of Musculoskeletal Disorders & Promoting Return-to-Work through the Use of Rebar-Tying Machines
The first stage of this study will be a controlled laboratory experiment investigating the biomechanical and ergonomic differences between manual tying and using a rebar-tying machine. The second stage is a field experiment investigating the long-term health benefits of rebar-tying machine. The last stage will involve field experimentation to test the efficacy of the rebar-tying machine as a rehabilitation device to assist injured workers in return to work programs.
Results
Principal Investigator: Tony Almeida, International Association of Bridge Structural & Ornamental Iron Workers, Local 721
Co-Investigators: Peter Vi, Nadine Marks (Construction Safety Association of Ontario)
Two Year Funding: $42,500
Prevention of Work-Related Diseases
Safe Work Limits While Wearing Firefighting Protective Clothing
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death for on-duty firefighters. The physical demands of the fire suppression activities, together with the thermal strain of wearing heavy protective clothing, place an enormous burden on the heart to maintain the blood flow required to support the work and to dissipate body heat. This study will establish safe work times for firefighters wearing protective clothing and self-contained breathing apparatus. It will also test the benefits of hydration before and after work in the heat while wearing their protective ensemble, and the effectiveness of different recovery cooling strategies on subsequent work performance.
Results
Principal Investigator: Tom M. McLellan (Defence Research and Development Canada)
Two Year Funding: $ 197,903
Maternal Occupational Exposure to Organic Solvents during Pregnancy and Infant Visual Processing
This study will examine whether prenatal solvent exposure impairs infants’ colour vision and visual acuity. A secondary objective is to determine whether visual impairments underlie more general deficits in subsequent neurocognitive functioning. The results of the study will expand our knowledge of the effects of intra-uterine exposure to organic solvents on infant neurodevelopment and hence will assist in future counseling of women exposed to organic solvents in the workplace.
Results
Principal Investigator: Joanne Rovet (The Hospital for Sick Children)
Co-Investigators: Carol Westall, Gideon Koren, Christine Till (The Hospital for Sick Children)
Two Year Funding: $ 250,800
Skeletal Muscle in Work-Related Myalgia: A Feasibility Study
One of the major obstacles in developing strategies to prevent and treat Work-related Musculo-Skeltal Disorders (WMSDs) such as myalgia is the uncertainty as to the mechanisms involved. Although a biological pathway, manifested by abnormalities in muscle cell composition and function, has been suggested, definitive evidence is lacking. This study examines the feasibility of conducting a fullscale study into the question by developing and standardizing the needed procedures, recruiting the required worker sample, and obtaining preliminary insights into the difference in muscle structure and composition between myalgia patients and healthy controls.
Results
Principal Investigator: Howard J. Green, University of Waterloo
Key Investigators: Dr. Isik Urla Zeytinoglu, Sharon Webb (McMaster University)
Year 1: $85,184
Year 2: $0.00
Total: $85,184
Improvement in Diagnosis, Treatment, and Rehabilitation
HAVS Impairment & Disability Comparisons Using the DASH Questionnaire
This study will investigate the relationship between measured disability using the DASH questionnaire and the objective impairment in Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). The DASH questionnaire will be administered to a group of HAVS patients assessed at St. Michael’s Hospital Occupational Health Clinic. These data sources will allow detailed assessment using multiple regression techniques so that the overall disability of the arm, shoulder, and hand may be related to the objective impairment for the various components of HAVS, while still considering other key factors which might affect this relationship.
Principal Investigator: Ron House (St. Michael's Hospital)
Co-Investigators: Michael Wills (St. Michael's Hospital), Gary Liss, Sharon Switzer-McIntyre (University of Toronto)
Two Year Funding: $91,760
Return to Work and Fair Compensation of Injured Workers
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