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WorkSafeBC awards $500,000 in research grants
Richmond, B.C., December 13, 2005 — WorkSafeBC has announced the award recipients from its fifth annual research competition — designed to fund independent, scientific research on occupational health and safety and workers' compensation issues.
This year, WorkSafeBC has awarded a total of $499,799 in funding to eight new research projects aimed at transforming societal attitudes towards workplace health and safety, and better recognizing and preventing occupational diseases in B.C.
“We believe these two areas of research have significant potential for improving health and safety in B.C. workplaces,” said Ed McCloskey, Director of WorkSafeBC's Research Secretariat. “The knowledge generated by these studies will support the development of new, evidence-based approaches for reducing work-related injury, illness, disease, and death, and minimizing the associated human and economic costs.”
WorkSafeBC conducts research competitions each year. Funding is awarded based on the scope, scientific merit, and relevance of the research proposed. All winning applicants go through a rigorous review process involving WorkSafeBC stakeholders and scientific experts. The eight successful projects from this year's competition include:
- A Multidisciplinary Study of Factors Influencing Hazard Reduction Strategies, Using Noise Exposure and Hearing Loss as a Model (UBC)
- Assessing Attitudes, Beliefs, and Readiness for Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention in the Construction Industry (UBC)
- A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness and Cost-effectiveness of Social Marketing Campaigns in Occupational Injury Prevention (Institute for Work & Health)
- Measuring the Effectiveness of a Hand Hygiene Campaign on Health Care Workers' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Intention to Comply with Hand Hygiene Guidelines (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority)
- Using Social Marketing to Increase Occupational Health and Safety (University of Regina)
- Sustaining Health Care Professionals During Pandemic Influenza: A Pre-incident Pilot Project (UBC)
- Reduction of Asthma Risks Among Cleaners in the B.C. Health Care Industry: Protocol Development (UBC/ Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare in BC)
- Occupational Exposures to Fertilizer and Contaminants among B.C. Tree Planters (UBC/ Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada)
Since its inception in 2000, WorkSafeBC's research program has awarded $5.9 million to 56 research projects and nine research training awards. “Together, these projects have added significantly to the scientific evidence base for improving occupational health and safety and workers' compensation practices in this province,” said McCloskey.
WorkSafeBC is now gearing up for the 2006 research competition, which will be launched early in the new year. For this round of funding, approximately $1.92 million in grant money has been made available.
The 2006 competition will feature a new category of grants for innovation and knowledge transfer, which are intended to support the development of practical, shop-floor solutions that translate new knowledge into practice, or that solve specific problems in the workplace.
The annual research competition is coordinated by the WorkSafeBC's Research Secretariat, which oversees research and related activities for the organization. Beginning in 2006, the Secretariat will conduct the grant competition using the annual interest from a $30 million reserve set aside in May 2005 by WorkSafeBC's Board of Directors to fund future research.
Additional information about the annual research competition is available on WorkSafeBC's web site at www.worksafebc.com/contact_us/research/default.asp.
WorkSafeBC is an independent provincial statutory agency governed by a Board of Directors that serves nearly two million workers and about 179,000 employers. WorkSafeBC was born out of a compromise between B.C.'s workers and employers in 1917 where workers gave up the right to sue their employers and fellow workers for injuries on the job in return for a no-fault insurance program fully paid for by employers. The organization is committed to safe and healthy workplaces and to providing return-to-work rehabilitation and legislated compensation benefits.
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For more information or to arrange an interview please contact: |
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Ian Gray |
Ed McCloskey |
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