Dr. Mieke Koehoorn

2007 Career Investigator Award, Senior Scholar

Health and the work environment: A program of research for the surveillance and epidemiology of workplace injury and illness and the evaluation of workplace policies and procedures to protect and advance the health of workers |,|

Most individuals spend one-third of their adult life at work contributing actively to their health and to society. However, work environment conditions for many occupations involve hazards to health that reduce the well-being, working capacity and even the life span of working individuals. The direct costs of work-related injury and illness in Canada are estimated at $6 billion in wage loss benefits and compensation and health services per year.

As an MSFHR-funded Scholar, Dr. Mieke Koehoorn studied how the work environment affects the health and well-being of health care workers in BC. Now, she is working to provide evidence for primary and secondary prevention of work-related illness, injury and disability for a variety of workers and work environments using three interconnected themes: occupational surveillance of work-related injuries, illnesses and exposures; occupational epidemiology of risk factors; and policy and program evaluation.

The occupational surveillance theme will merge health databases with employment characteristics and work exposure data to map injury/illness rates and exposure groups as a means of identifying high risk groups in BC. For the occupational epidemiology theme, Koehoorn will study BC firefighters and the relationship between heart disease and exposure to smoke, carbon monoxide, or physical stress. She will also study BC workers in heavy industry and the relationship between back injury and exposure to heavy lifting, awkward postures, or vibration. These findings will contribute to the development of occupational standards, regulation and compensation for chronic occupational diseases. The final theme will involve generating empirically-based evidence on the evaluation of current policies and procedures, specifically their effectiveness in reducing work disability.

By developing a better understanding of the determinants of work-related illness, injury and disability, Dr. Koehoorn hopes to provide industry decision-makers with evidence to allocate resources and implement workplace policies and procedures that improve overall health and reduce health care costs for BC workers.

Read Dr. Koehoorn's 2002 Scholar profile

Dr. Koehoorn is also the leader of the 2003 Researh Unit: Centre for Health and Environmental Research

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