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Intervention research
A Comparative Analysis of the Occupational Health and Safety Incentives of Workers’ Compensation Premium Setting in British Columbia and Ontario 
This study will conduct a comparative analysis of workers’ compensation premium setting in British Columbia and Ontario to investigate the impact of various features of the two programs. In doing so, it will assess the incentive effects of prospective versus retrospective experience rating, as well as other features of the programs.
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A Test Re-test Reliability Study of the Hands-free Technique and Safety Climate Questionnaire in B.C. Operating Room Nurses
Completed
This project will evaluate a new questionnaire designed to examine hospitals' health and safety climate and their use of the hands-free technique (HFT) - a safety procedure for operating room workers to reduce their risk of exposure to blood and body fluid during surgery.
| Principal Investigators: | Bernadette Stringer (University of Western Ontario) Elizabeth Bryce (VGH) |
| Co-investigator: | Ted Haines (McMaster University) |
| Funding Awarded: | $16,843 |
| Competition Year: | 2003 |
Accounting for All the Benefits: How Should We Judge the Worth of Occupational Health and Safety Programs in the Healthcare Sector?
This study will examine the relevant costs and consequences that might be included in a comprehensive economic evaluation of an occupational health and safety intervention in the healthcare sector, from the perspective of various stakeholders such as workers, employers, insurers, and the B.C. Ministry of Health. It will also consider how these costs and consequences might be measured and integrated in an economic evaluation, given data availability and stakeholder preferences.
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An Intervention for Overhead Drilling into Concrete
The purpose of this research is to develop a new system for overhead drilling into concrete so that the work can be done with less shoulder and arm force, reduced awkward shoulder and neck postures, and reduced exposure to dust. This research is intended to lead to the prevention of shoulder and neck injuries to carpenters.
| Principal Investigator: | Stephen Robinovitch (SFU) |
| Co-investigator: | David Rempel (University of California) |
| Funding Awarded: | $132,060 (2 years) |
| Competition Year: | 2006 |
British Columbia Fails to Meet the North American Screening Standards: What Are the Implications for Workers with Allergic Contact Dermatitis?
This study will examine the possible need for an expanded series of allergens to be used as a screening tool in the assessment of patients in British Columbia with suspected allergic contact dermatitis.
| Principal Investigator: | Gillian de Gannes (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $71,125 (2 years) |
| Competition Year: | 2009 |
British Columbia Workplace Safety Leadership Development
This development project is about enhancing safety leadership practices in B.C. workplaces through the measurement of safety climate in workplaces. It builds on a an approach to safety leadership which focuses on enhancing the capacity of individual leaders and ensuring that there is a regular flow of safety information to them.
| Principal Investigator: | Philip L. Bigelow (IWH) |
| Co-investigators: | Rick Iverson (SFU), Daniel P. Skarlicki (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $29,981* |
| Competition Year: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Manitoba
Confined Space Atmospheric Hazard Risk Assessment
This project aims to develop a confined space atmospheric hazard risk assessment tool for mine reclamation sites. The intended outcome is a software tool able to calculate the risk assessment of hazardous gas emissions, which could be used to prevent associated accidents in the mining industry.
| Principal Investigator: | John Meech (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $29,000* |
| Competition Year: | 2009 |
*In partnership with the WCB of Nova Scotia
Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Dissemination Strategy for Management of Low Mood and Depression among Employees of Pacific Blue Cross
This research will pilot a self-management tool (a self-care manual) entitled “Antidepressant Skills at Work” to inform the development of an effective, timely and cohesive implementation strategy for employers and workers dealing with the onset of depression.
| Principal Applicant: | Elliot Goldner (SFU) |
| Co-Applicants: | Joti Samra (SFU); Merv Gilbert (Gilbert Action Organizational Consulting); Dan Bilsker (VGH); Sinden Malinowski (Pacific Blue Cross) |
| Funding Awarded: | $50,000 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
Developing a Beryllium Decontamination Protocol for Occupational Settings
This project will develop a guide for a beryllium decontamination protocol that will include control measures to protect workers from unnecessary exposures. This guide will compliment the Guide of Good Practice on clean-up and decontamination presently used in the province of Quebec.
| Principal Applicant: | Chantal Dion (IRSST) |
| Co-applicant: | André Dufresne (McGill University) |
| Funding Awarded: | $50,000 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2007 |
Developing a Safety Culture: Shared Assumptions and Interventions
This project addresses safety behaviour in the nursing environment and will test interventions believed to influence nurse behaviour and health outcomes.
| Principal Applicant: | Michael Leiter (Acadia University – Nova Scotia) |
| Co-Applicants: | Marilyn Pothier (Tri-District Shared Services); Elizabeth Henheffer, South Shore District Health Authority (Nova Scotia) |
| Funding Awarded: | $49,618* (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
*In partnership with the WCBs of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan
Establishing an Occupational Health and Infection Control Program in a Large Ambulatory Care Facility
This project aims to develop and implement a comprehensive collaborative occupational health and infection control program, in a facility where there are multiple and adjacent employers, and where common receiving areas makes infection control difficult.
| Principal Applicant: | Annalee Yassi (UBC) |
| Co-Applicants: | Elizabeth Bryce, Harro Lauprecht (UBC); Sydney Scharf, Linda Kingsbury (Vancouver Coastal Health) |
| Funding Awarded: | $50,000 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
Evaluation and Expansion of Peer Coaching/Mentoring Projects at VCH
The Ceiling Lift Coaching Program is a peer mentoring program piloted in three residential care facilities and one sub-acute rehabilitation facility. The purpose of this research is to assess the costs and benefits associated with the coaching program to define resources needed for sustaining the program, and to make decisions about expanding similar programs to other areas of occupational health and safety interventions.
| Principal Investigators: | Hasanat Alamgir (OHSAH) |
| Co-Investigators: | Catherine Kidd (VCH), Schicheng Yu, Chris Back (OHSAH) |
| Funding Awarded: | $63,405 |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
Examining the Cost-Benefit of Additional Staffing in Long Term Care (LTC) Facilities
CompletedThis project will examine whether injury rates are reduced - and whether cost-savings are accrued - by higher levels of resident-handling staffing (e.g., licensed practical nurses, care aides, and registered nurses) in long term care facilities.
| Principal Investigator: | Annalee Yassi (UBC) |
| Co-investigators: | Marcy Cohen (Hospital Employees' Union); Il Hyeok Park (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $30,000 |
| Competition Year: | 2003 |
Examining Trends in the Incidence and Cost of Workers' Compensation Claims in the Ontario and British Columbia Long Term Care Sectors 1998-2007
This research seeks to determine the way in which varying prevention schemes affect prevention outcomes, particularly in relation to the high incidence and cost of injuries in long-term healthcare. As such, this research will examine trends over time in compensation claim activity and benefit expenditures for work-related health conditions among workers in the long-term care sectors in B.C. and Ontario.
| Principal Investigator: | Cameron Mustard (IWH) |
| Co-Investigators: | Emile Tompa, Peter Smith (IWH), Mieke Koehoorn, Chris McLeod (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $327,500* (2 years) |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
*In partnership with the WCB of Manitoba and the Workplace Health, Safety & Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador (WHSCC)
Identifying Risk Factors for Falls among BC's Healthcare Workers
This project aims to address the problem of fall injuries by investigating the trends among healthcare workers, and by identifying the associated high risk factors, sub-sectors, and occupations relating to these injuries. The findings of this study will be made available to policy makers who will be able to utilize the information to develop interventions aimed to reduce the burden of injury resulting from falls.
| Principal Investigators: | Hasanat Alamgir & Dave Keen (OHSAH & Fraser Health) |
| Co-Investigators: | Paul Brown, Deanna Harrison (Fraser Health), Tony Gilligan (OHSAH) |
| Funding Awarded: | $29,070* |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
*In partnership with the Saskatchewan WCB and the Workplace Health, Safety & Compensation Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador (WHSCC)
Increasing Access to Radiation Safety Training and Validating its Effectiveness in Improving Work Practices Involving Radiation
CompletedThis project aims to develop self-study training modules on radiation protection and to evaluate the effectiveness of these training modules.
| Principal Applicant: | Emerenciana (Emmy) Duran (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority) |
| Co-applicants: | Peter Choi (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority), Anthony Yu (Fraser Health) |
| Funding Awarded: | $48,930 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2006 |
Injury Prevention in Dangerous Industries: Does Certification Have an Impact on Tree-faller Injuries?
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a of worker certification program on the risk of occupational injuries among tree fallers in the British Columbia forestry sector. The goal of the research is to provide evidence of current occupational safety interventions in the forestry sector, as well as to assist in the design of new safety interventions for other high-risk occupations and sectors such as construction, mining and oil/gas.
| Principal Investigator: | Mieke Koehoorn (UBC) |
| Co-Investigators: | Hugh Davies, Chris McLeod (UBC); Curtis Breslin (IWH) |
| Funding Awarded: | $167,687* (2 years) |
| Competition Year: | 2009 |
*In partnership with the WCB of Nova Scotia
Innovation in Worker Safety Representation Systems: An Examination of Worker Involvement in Britain, Australia and New Zealand and the Potential Benefits for B.C. Construction Workers
This research will examine the effectiveness of B.C. construction worker participation on health and safety committees or as safety representatives, and will conduct a cross-jurisdictional comparison (nationally and internationally) with other approaches to participation. The information obtained may be used to develop a more effective means to worker representation in occupational health and safety self-regulation in the construction industry in B.C.
| Principal Applicant: | Wayne Peppard (B.C. & Yukon Territory Building & Construction Trades Council) |
| Co-applicants: | David Fairey (Trade Union Research Bureau), John Calvert (SFU) |
| Funding Awarded: | $49,226 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2006 |
Inter-rater Reliability Assessment of an Audit Tool for OH&S Management Systems in Healthcare
CompletedThe purpose of this research project is to assess the performance/reliability of a healthcare-specific occupational health and safety program audit tool.
| Principal Investigator: | Waqar Mughal (Fraser Health) |
| Co-investigator: | Anna Matheson (Fraser Health) |
| Funding Awarded: | $29,000* |
| Competition Year: | 2006 |
*In partnership with the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board
Joint Prevention of Workplace Violence: Creating an Innovative Web-based Tool
This project proposes to develop a practical, operational tool to guide workplace violence-prevention programs. The objectives are to design, develop, and implement tools to guide workplace violence prevention initiatives which are accessible through the internet by content administrators and organization representatives.
| Principal Applicant: | Annalee Yassi (UBC) |
| Co-applicants: | Joe Tremblay, Tony Gilligan (OHSAH), Brad Buck (BCPSA), Mona Sykes, Lori Strom, Kevin Park (BCGEU) |
| Funding Awarded: | $50,000 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2006 |
Preventing Needle-stick Injuries and the Use of Dental Safety Syringes
The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not it is clinically appropriate to use currently available safety engineered syringes in the dental setting. It will investigate whether safety engineered syringes contribute to safety and decrease the risk of injury and subsequent disease transmission to dental healthcare personnel, and if so, which safety engineered syringes provide the highest level of protection available.
| Principal Applicant: | Mel Sawyer (UBC) |
| Co-Applicants: | Edward Putnins, J. Douglas Waterfield, M.A.J. Lex (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $48,330* (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2009 |
*In partnership with the WCB of Nova Scotia
Protecting healthcare workers from bloodborne diseases: Implementing the EPINet™ data collection system for blood and body fluid exposure
CompletedThe purpose of this project is to implement the EPINet system in the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), and collect preliminary data on exposure to infectious bodily fluids among B.C. healthcare workers.
| Principal Investigators: | Annalee Yassi (Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare in B.C.) and Philip Bigelow (UBC) |
| Co-investigators: | Robert Hogg (IBC); Janine Jagger (University of Virginia) |
| Funding Awarded: | $99,880 (2 years) |
| Competition Year: | 2003 |
Reducing Cytotoxic Drug Exposure in Healthcare: Determinants Influencing Cleaning Effectiveness
Completed This research seeks to determine the effectiveness of cleaning agents and procedures used on work surfaces that become contaminated with cytotoxic drugs. Researchers will examine a range of cleaning agents and procedures to determine which ones permit better control of environmental contamination, and therefore reduce the exposure of workers to cytotoxic drugs.
| Principal Investigators: | Prescillia Chua (Fraser Health) & Winnie Chu (UBC - SOEH) |
| Co-investigators: | Chun-Yip Hon (UBC), Quinn Danyluk (Fraser Health) |
| Funding Awarded: | $30,000 |
| Competition Year: | 2006 |
Safety Engineered Medical Devices Activation Study – The B.C. Experience
Safety Engineered Medical Devices (needles and sharps) are designed with a safety feature (e.g. shielding) to reduce the risk of accidental exposure to blood and body fluids, but their effectiveness depends on activation of the safety feature by the user. This study will characterize appropriate use and disposal of these devices.
| Principal Investigators: | George Astrakianakis & Ted Haines (OHSAH & McMaster University) |
| Co-investigators: | Kenneth Kamsteeg (VIHA); Yun Tang (PHSA) |
| Funding Awarded: | $186,783* (2 years) |
| Competition Year: | 2009 |
*In partnership with the WCB of Nova Scotia
Strengthening N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator Protection Programs by Evaluating the Contribution of Each of the Program Elements
This research will focus on N95 filtering facepiece respirators used to protect workers from harmful airborne contaminants in the healthcare setting. The research aims to strengthen N95 respirator protection programs and to aid in better delivery of organizational pandemic preparedness plans.
| Principal Investigators: | Quinn Danyluk & Chun-Yip Hon (Fraser Health & Vancouver Coastal Health) |
| Co-investigators: | George Astrakianakis (OHSAH), Elizabeth Bryce (Vancouver Coastal Health), Bob Janssen (WorkSafeBC), Annalee Yassi (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $242,117.98* (2 years) |
| Competition Year: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
Summative Evaluation of the Fish Safe Stability Education Program: A Multifaceted Approach
CompletedThis project will conduct an evaluation on the effectiveness of a program entitled “Fish Safe Stability Education Program” in place since 2005. This research will attempt to show whether the FSSEP is a significant factor in preventing injury and loss onboard commercial fishing vessels. The long-term summative evaluation of the FSSEP and its findings stand to inform the commercial fishing industry and all safety focused organizations and agencies about the link between education through indirect instruction techniques and safe working practices.
| Principal Applicant: | Barbara Howe (Quinte Marine Services Ltd.) |
| Funding Awarded: | $49,610 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2007 |
Taking Care of those who Care: Assessing Organizational and Individual Stress Management Interventions for Anti-violence Workers
This project will assess the impact of three stress reduction interventions – yoga, meditation and clinical debriefing – on stress levels, burnout, and other physical and mental health symptoms experienced by anti-violence workers. It will gather preliminary information regarding the impacts of the different interventions and their effect on accident/injury, illness, rehabilitation and return-to-work.
| Principal Applicant: | Janice Abbott (Atira Women’s Resource Society) |
| Co-Applicants: | Lynda Dechief (Equality Consulting); Georgia Pomaki (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $49,586 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
The Effectiveness of Current Fire Fighter Rapid Intervention Teams
This research aims to improve rescue approaches for lost, trapped, and injured fire fighters at an emergency scene. The proposed research will attempt to do so by analyzing current Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) protocols and provide recommendations that can improve current RIT practices.
| Principal Applicant: | James Carter (Justice Institute of British Columbia) |
| Co-Applicant: | Steve Wright (Port Coquitlam Fire & Emergency Services) |
| Funding Awarded: | $43,860 (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2008 |
Warehouse Safety: Education & Evaluation (Video)
Completed This project involves the production of a safety video designed for workers who have a developmental disability. Its purpose is to educate developmentally disabled adults currently employed or seeking employment. The video will be accompanied with a facilitator’s guide, including an interactive workshop component.
| Principal Applicant: | Kirsti Inglis (Developmental Disabilities Association) |
| Co-applicant: | Deanne Ziebart (Developmental Disabilities Association) |
| Funding Awarded: | $5,500* (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
Workplace Emergency Planning Inclusive of People with Disabilities
Completed This research project will examine current workplace emergency planning practice in B.C. in relation to exclusivity of the needs of people with disabilities. The project will develop a practical handbook for employers on how to create and implement emergency plans that are inclusive of workers with disabilities.
| Principal Applicant: | Margaret Birrell (BC Coalition of People with Disabilities) |
| Co-applicant: | Karen Martin (Independent Contract Researcher) |
| Funding Awarded: | $38,870* (Innovation) |
| Competition Year: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia