Research Project Summary

Year Funded: 2012 Budget: Funding Agency: University of Texas
Title: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Occupational Safety and Health Program Elements in the Wholesale Retail Trade (IWH Project 1215)
Category: Occupational Disease, Injury and Health Services
Subcategory: Occupational Health Services
Keywords: occupational health & safety, leading indicators, prevention
Link to research website: www.iwh.on.ca

Issue:

The challenge of identifying what the most appropriate leading indicators of occupational health and safety performance continues to be an important question for those responsible for managing occupational safety and health. The Expert Advisory Panel has identified the development of an evidence-base for making decisions on the best leading indicators a critical research activity. The research team is a collaboration between IWH scientists, and scientists at the University of Texas and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the USA along with staff at the Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation (OBWC). The project builds on IWH Project 1160 using a similar set of leading indicator metrics.

Objectives:

To examine how the eight domains of organizational policy and practice (active safety leadership, safety diligence, safety training, ergonomics policies and practices, disability claims management, proactive return to work, wellness and hazard identification and control) and a company’s people-oriented culture are related retrospectively and prospectively to workers compensation claims in the wholesale and retail trade sector.
To examine how OBWC prevention programs affect organizational policies and practices and change injury and illness rates.
To describe the psychometric properties of the organizational policies and practices questionnaire and recommend a reduced set of items to use as leading indicators.

Anticipated Results:

This research will be relevant to the MOL, WSIB, Labour, WSPS and IHSA as well as wholesale and retail trade associations.

Investigators:

Sheilah Hogg-Johnson, Benjamin C. Amick III (Institute for Work & Health)