| Year Funded: 2010 | Budget: | Funding Agency: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Institute for Work & Health (IWH) |
|---|---|---|
| Title: | Examining the Impact of Physical Conditions and Depression on the Labour Market Participation of Older Working-aged Canadians (IWH Project 2155) | |
| Category: | Changing Nature of Work and Work Environment | |
| Subcategory: | Changing Nature of Work and Work Environment | |
| Keywords: | chronic disease, older workers, labour force participation | |
| Link to research website: | www.iwh.on.ca | |
Issue:
The Canadian population is getting older. From both a society and individual perspective it is important to keep older workers in the labour market. As such, it is important that we understand how health conditions, both physical and mental, impact on the ability of people to continue to work, and if there are differences in the relationships between these health conditions and the ability to stay at work for men and women. It is likely that the number of workers with multiple chronic conditions will increase given the aging workforce in Canada. As such developing a clearer understanding the impact that health conditions, by themselves and in combination, have on labour market participation, and if these relationships differ for men and women, is a vital area of future research in Canada.
Objectives:
The goals of this project are:
• to examine the pattern of chronic conditions among older working-aged Canadian in separate analyses for men and women (40 to 74 years),
• to examine the temporal relationship between the onset of different chronic health conditions and subsequent labour market participation for persons aged 40 to 60 years at baseline, over the period 1994 to 2008. Labour market participation will be broadly defined, examining the attachment to the labour market (e.g. weeks/hours worked) and the type of work undertaken as well as movement into and out of the labour market.
Anticipated Results:
This project will develop a general knowledge base concerning the ability of older workers to find work that fulfills their needs in the Canadian labour market – and highlight particular gender- and sex-based differences in this relationship – providing both direction for future research questions and preliminary evidence for policy development that recognises the role that health plays in the successful labour market participation among older men and women in Canada.
Investigators:
Peter Smith, Dorcas Beaton, Amber Bielecky, Selahadin Ibrahim, Cameron Mustard (Institute for Work & Health)
