Research Project Summary

Year Funded: 2010 Budget: 44,925 Funding Agency: WorkSafeBC
Title: Dissemination and Uptake of a Participatory Ergonomics Guide for Workplaces in British Columbia
Category: Transferring Research Knowledge to the Workplace
Subcategory: Transferring Research
Keywords: Participatory ergonomics, knowledge transfer, occupational health and safety, tool dissemination
Link to research website: www.iwh.on.ca

Issue:

Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries (MSIs) are a leading cause of lost time injury claims and lost productivity in Canadian workplaces, placing a significant burden on the health of Canadians and therefore on healthcare and compensation systems. One innovative approach to ergonomic interventions is to engage workers in the process of identifying and solving ergonomic risks – called participatory ergonomics (PE).

Objectives:

The goal of this project is to disseminate a PE guide developed by the research team and examine whether the tool is used in the initiation (or with the intention to initiate) workplace PE programs.

Anticipated Results:

It is anticipated that the overall project impact will be a widespread dissemination of the PE guide that can be used to reduce workplace injuries and provide a health benefit for a great number of workers in B.C.

Investigators:

Dwayne Van Eerd (Institute for Work & Health)