Research

Aware of the need for worker-centred research, Ontario's injured workers have long been active in community-based and participatory research initiatives.

Research groups

Bancroft Institute (for Studies in Workers' Compensation and Health and Safety)
The Bancroft Institute (known to 1999 as the Injured Workers' Institute) was established in 1997 by the injured worker community and representatives to promote education and research that addressed the concerns of Ontario's workers.

Annual workshops have focused on such issues as the precarious employment of the contingent worker, myths and realities of early and safe return to work, participatory action research methods and tools.

In December 2003, the Bancroft Institute hosted a meeting of injured worker activists and researchers to explore joint research projects, leading to a formal partnership between the injured worker community and university researchers (see RAACWI below) and the Injured Workers' History Project.

For further information on the Bancroft Institute, contact Injured Workers' Consultants at 416-461-2411.

The Research Action Alliance on the Consequences of Work Injury (RAACWI)
This community-based research initiative addresses the question: "How does Ontario's workers' compensation system help or hinder the protection of injured workers - immediately and over time - against negative economic, social, physical and mental health consequences of injury?"

With five-year funding (2006-2011) from the federal Community-University Research Alliance (CURA), this research program aims to better understand the impact of work injury and how legislation, policies, programs and practices can best support injured workers. Go to http://www.consequencesofworkinjury.ca for full details of the specific projects and to subscribe to their e-newsletter.

Partner organizations: Bancroft Institute, Injured Workers' Consultants, Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups, Ontario Federation of Labour, Institute for Work and Health, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers. Office of the Worker Adviser, McMaster University, University of Toronto. Other participating organizations: Industrial Accident Victims Group of Ontario, Lakehead University, Toronto Injured Workers' Advocacy Group, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Trent University, United Steelworkers, University of Ottawa, York University.

The Carol McGregor Post-Doctoral Fellowship
The Research Action Alliance on the Consequences of Work Injury has recently established a two-year fellowship affiliated with McMaster University, Hamilton.

Named in memory of Carol McGregor - a long-time disability rights activist and community legal worker with Injured Workers' Consultants - the initiative aims to build research capacity by providing mentoring opportunities for graduate students and recently graduated researchers to develop their research skills on the topics under study by RAACWI, particularly in the area of deeming and experience rating.

Projects, publications, meetings

RAACWI Community Forum on Adequacy of Benefits and Labour-market Earnings Post-Accident. Friday June 18, 2010 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Injured Workers' Consultants (815 Danforth Ave, Suite 411). Guest speaker Emile Tompa (RAACWI academic lead) will lead the discussion on whether workers compensation benefits cover wages lost after injury or disease. Everyone welcome, free of charge. For more information contact IWC at (416)461-2411 or email smantis@tbaytel.net

Canadian Association for Research on Work and Health Conference, May 28-29, 2010. Hosted by the Institute for Work & Health, the theme for the conference is "Worker Health in a Changing World of Work." Among the topics addressed: stigma experienced by injured workers, health consequences of precarious employment, sustainable return to work, economic incentives/regulatory standards in occupational health protection, carcinogens in Ontario workplaces [download full program] The conference location is 89 Chestnut, University of Toronto. For further information please see the CARWH 2010 website.

RAACWI Community Forum on Labour Market Re-entry. Thursday May 20, 2010 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. at Injured Workers' Consultants (815 Danforth Ave, Suite 411). Special guest Ellen McEachen presents her Labour Market Re-entry (LMR) research study. LMR has been much criticized in the last few years and this research helps to shed a light on this process. We will also explore the alternatives. Everyone welcome! For more information or to register, please phone IWC at 416-461-2411 or email smantis@tbaytel.net

RAACWI Community Forum on " The Auditor General's 2009 report - what it means for injured workers." Join us at Injured Workers' Consultants (815 Danforth Ave, Suite 411) on Monday, February 8th, 2010 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. for a discussion on how the Auditor General addresses the WCB's unfunded liability in his 2009 report, his recommendations. What does it mean for injured workers? Speakers from the injured workers' and labour movement and the A-G's office have been invited. Bring your questions. For further information, call IWC at 416-461-2411 or email smantis@tbaytel.net

RAACWI Community Forum on "Knowledge mobilization - building public awareness through the media". Join us at Injured Workers' Consultants (815 Danforth Ave, Suite 411) on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. to gain a better understanding of the media in Ontario and how we can get media attention for our issues and our research. Build skills in working with the media. Everyone is welcome - free of charge - refreshments served. For more information or to register please phone IWC at 416-461-2411 or email smantis@tbaytel.net

RAACWI Community Forum on "Deeming"for Injured Workers Join us at Injured Workers' Consultants (815 Danforth Ave, Suite 411) on Monday, November 30th from 1-5 p.m. for a fun filled afternoon with skits, case examples, research and ideology. We will explore legal strategies and work together to find solutions. Everyone is welcome - free of charge - refreshments served. For more information or to register please phone IWC at 416-461-2411 or email smantis@tbaytel.net

RAACWI Community Forum: "WSIB Finances - What does it mean for Injured Workers? What is the employer strategy?" - John McKinnon will review the 2008 WSIB Annual Report and lead a discussion on how we might benefit from a more full understanding of the current situation. To be held at IWC, Oct. 2, 2009 from 1-5 p.m. Everyone is welcome. For more information, or to register please phone IWC at 416.461-2411 or email Steve at smantis@tbaytel.net

When your work causes harm [Dana Howse will make a presentation on the survey at upcoming Bright Lights meeting, Oct. 9, IWC] - Ever think about putting in a claim for workers' compensation? University of Toronto postgraduate research project seeks injured workers interested in participating. If you are willing to talk, in a confidential interview, about your work-related injury and disease (how you knew it was work-related, who you talked to about it, whether you filed a compensation claim and what that experience was like for you?), please contact Dana at: harmedatwork@utoronto.ca or call 416-978-7545. An honorarium and expenses will be provided. [Information sheet] [Flyer]

ONIWG 2009 Survey of Injured Workers in Ontario
⁄ First report (June 2009) now available: " Impacts of Workplace Injury" [pdf] ⁄ Key findings

RAACWI Community Forum: "The Nature and consequences of stigma experienced by injured workers" - presentation by researcher Bonnie Kirsh (University of Toronto) held at IWC, April 23, 2009.

Ontario Network of Injured Workers' Groups: Fall Conference "Using Research to Make Change for the Injured Worker Community", October 17-19, 2008
Activists from injured worker groups, labour unions, legal clinics, and researchers come together to learn how to make research reflect the issues of community injured worker groups and how to use that research to move forward an agenda for change within the workers’ compensation system. [Papers and presentations]

"Poverty in Motion: the Rippling Effects"
Prepared for the Thunder Bay & District Inured Workers' Support Group by Karli Brotchie and Becky Casey (2008). Inspired by the 2005 Street Health study conducted in downtown Toronto that found 57% of those living on the street had suffered a workplace injury at some point in their lives, this pilot study aims to determine the relationship between workplace injury and poverty in Thunder Bay.

Immigrant injured worker study
July 2008: The Insitute for Work for Work & Health is doing a study to learn about the experiences of injured workers with workers' compensation, getting medical care and support. If you immigrated to Canada after 1990 and have been hurt or sick because of your job, they would like to hear what you have to say. Click here to read more or contact Agnieszka Kosny at 416-927-2027 Ext. 2167. (Apply before May 2009).

"Connecting for Change: Injured Workers in Northwestern Ontario and the Effectiveness of Peer Support"
This impetus for this 2002 participatory research report came from "injured workers in Thunder Bay who noticed injured workers talking to and helping other injured workers. They wondered how often this occurred; its benefits as well as how it compared to other supports in the community..." The Thunder Bay Injured Workers' Group contacted researchers at Lakehead University, and together with support groups from Dryden, Kenora and the Canadian Injured Workers Alliance, created a community research team. [Summary]

Injured Worker Participatory Research Project: "Making the System Better: Injured Workers Speak Out..."
This 2001 study explored the experiences of more than 300 injured wokers in southern Ontario and made recommendations for changes to the workers' compensation system. Under lead investigator Bonnie Kirsh of the Univerity of Toronto, most of the people who conducted the study were themselves injured workers who "along with a handful of university academics and representatives of worker organizations, identified the key issues to be explored, developed the survey and interview questions and related their findings to other relevant research on injured workers."
[Report]