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Intervention research
A Test Re-test Reliability Study of the Hands-free Technique and Safety Climate Questionnaire in B.C. Operating Room Nurses
Completed
This project will evaluate a new questionnaire designed to examine hospitals' health and safety climate and their use of the hands-free technique (HFT) - a safety procedure for operating room workers to reduce their risk of exposure to blood and body fluid during surgery.
| Principal Investigators: | Bernadette Stringer (University of Western Ontario) Elizabeth Bryce (Vancouver General Hospital) |
| Co-investigator: | Ted Haines (McMaster University) |
| Funding Awarded: | $16,843 |
| Year Funded: | 2003 |
An Intervention for Overhead Drilling into Concrete
The purpose of this research is to develop a new system for overhead drilling into concrete so that the work can be done with less shoulder and arm force, reduced awkward shoulder and neck postures, and reduced exposure to dust. This research is intended to lead to the prevention of shoulder and neck injuries to carpenters.
| Principal Investigator: | Stephen Robinovitch (Simon Fraser University) |
| Co-investigator: | David Rempel (University of California) |
| Funding Awarded: | $132,060 (2 years) |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
British Columbia Workplace Safety Leadership Development
This development project is about enhancing safety leadership practices in B.C. workplaces through the measurement of safety climate in workplaces. It builds on a an approach to safety leadership which focuses on enhancing the capacity of individual leaders and ensuring that there is a regular flow of safety information to them.
| Principal Investigator: | Davie Stuewe (Dalhousie University) |
| Co-investigators: | Philip L. Bigelow (Institute for Work & Health), Rick Iverson (Simon Fraser University), Daniel P. Skarlicki (University of British Columbia) |
| Funding Awarded: | $29,981* |
| Year Funded: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Manitoba
Developing a Beryllium Decontamination Protocol for Occupational Settings
This project will develop a guide for a beryllium decontamination protocol that will include control measures to protect workers from unnecessary exposures. This guide will compliment the Guide of Good Practice on clean-up and decontamination presently used in the province of Quebec.
| Principal Applicant: | Chantal Dion (IRSST) |
| Co-applicant: | André Dufresne (McGill University) |
| Funding Awarded: | $50,000 (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2007 |
Evaluation and Expansion of Peer Coaching/Mentoring Projects at VCH 
The Ceiling Lift Coaching Program is a peer mentoring program piloted in three residential care facilities and one sub-acute rehabilitation facility. The purpose of this research is to assess the costs and benefits associated with the coaching program to define resources needed for sustaining the program, and to make decisions about expanding similar programs to other areas of occupational health and safety interventions.
| Principal Investigators: | Hasanat Alamgir & Catherine Fast (OHSAH & Vancouver Coastal Health) |
| Co-Investigators: | Catherine Kidd (VCH), Schicheng Yu, Chris Back (OHSAH) |
| Maximum Budget: | $63,405 |
| Year Funded: | 2008 |
Examining the Cost-Benefit of Additional Staffing in Long Term Care (LTC) Facilities
CompletedThis project will examine whether injury rates are reduced - and whether cost-savings are accrued - by higher levels of resident-handling staffing (e.g., licensed practical nurses, care aides, and registered nurses) in long term care facilities.
| Principal Investigator: | Annalee Yassi (University of British Columbia) |
| Co-investigators: | Marcy Cohen (Hospital Employees' Union); Il Hyeok Park (University of British Columbia) |
| Workplace Partners: | Hospital Employees' Union; Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare |
| Funding Awarded: | $30,000 |
| Year Funded: | 2003 |
Examining Trends in the Incidence and Cost of Workers' Compensation Claims in the Ontario and British Columbia Long Term Care Sectors 1998-2007
This research seeks to determine the way in which varying prevention schemes affect prevention outcomes, particularly in relation to the high incidence and cost of injuries in long-term healthcare. As such, this research will examine trends over time in compensation claim activity and benefit expenditures for work-related health conditions among workers in the long-term care sectors in B.C. and Ontario.
| Principal Investigator: | Cameron Mustard (Institute for Work & Health) |
| Co-Investigators: | Emile Tompa, Peter Smith (IWH), Mieke Koehoorn, Chris McLeod (UBC) |
| Maximum Budget: | $327,500* (2 years) |
| Year Funded: | 2008 |
*In partnership with the WCB of Manitoba
HVAC Filter Change Project
This project will research levels of bioaerosols present during HVAC filter change procedures with an aim to develop a filter change protocol and prototype system that will minimize worker exposure to these harmful pathogens during this procedure.
| Principal Applicant: | Kelly Crosby (Ocean Air Systems Ltd.) |
| Project Team: | Nigel Halsted (BC Institute of Technology) |
| Funding Awarded: | $49,162 (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
Increasing Access to Radiation Safety Training and Validating its Effectiveness in Improving Work Practices Involving Radiation
This project aims to develop self-study training modules on radiation protection and to evaluate the effectiveness of these training modules.
| Principal Applicant: | Emerenciana (Emmy) Duran (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority) |
| Project Team: | Peter Choi (Vancouver Coastal Health Authority), Anthony Yu (Fraser Health) |
| Funding Awarded: | $48,930 (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
Identifying Risk Factors for Falls among BC's Healthcare Workers
This project aims to address the problem of fall injuries by investigating the trends among healthcare workers, and by identifying the associated high risk factors, sub-sectors, and occupations relating to these injuries. The findings of this study will be made available to policy makers who will be able to utilize the information to develop interventions aimed to reduce the burden of injury resulting from falls.
| Principal Investigators: | Hasanat Alamgir & Dave Keen (OHSAH & Fraser Health) |
| Co-Investigators: | Paul Brown, Deanna Harrison (Fraser Health), Tony Gilligan (OHSAH) |
| Maximum Budget: | $29,070* |
| Year Funded: | 2008 |
*In partnership with the Saskatchewan WCB
Innovation in Worker Safety Representation Systems: An Examination of Worker Involvement in Britain, Australia and New Zealand and the Potential Benefits for B.C. Construction Workers
This research will examine the effectiveness of B.C. construction worker participation on health and safety committees or as safety representatives, and will conduct a cross-jurisdictional comparison (nationally and internationally) with other approaches to participation. The information obtained may be used to develop a more effective means to worker representation in occupational health and safety self-regulation in the construction industry in B.C.
| Principal Applicant: | Wayne Peppard (B.C. & Yukon Territory Building & Construction Trades Council) |
| Project Team : | David Fairey (Trade Union Research Bureau), John Calvert (Simon Fraser University) |
| Funding Awarded: | $49,226 (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
Inter-rater Reliability Assessment of an Audit Tool for OH&S Management Systems in Healthcare
The purpose of this research project is to assess the performance/reliability of a healthcare-specific occupational health and safety program audit tool.
| Principal Investigator: | Waqar Mughal (Fraser Health) |
| Co-investigator: | Anna Matheson (Fraser Health) |
| Funding Awarded: | $29,000* |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
*In partnership with the Saskatchewan Workers' Compensation Board
Joint Prevention of Workplace Violence: Creating an Innovative Web-based Tool
This project proposes to develop a practical, operational tool to guide workplace violence-prevention programs. The objectives are to design, develop, and implement tools to guide workplace violence prevention initiatives which are accessible through the internet by content administrators and organization representatives.
| Principal Applicants: | Stephen Copen (BC Public Service Agency) & Annalee Yassi (University of British Columbia) |
| Project Team: | Joe Tremblay, Tony Gilligan (OHSAH), Brad Buck (BCPSA), Mona Sykes, Lori Strom, Kevin Park (BCGEU) |
| Funding Awarded: | $50,000 (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
Protecting healthcare workers from bloodborne diseases: Implementing the EPINet™ data collection system for blood and body fluid exposure
The purpose of this project is to implement the EPINet system in the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), and collect preliminary data on exposure to infectious bodily fluids among B.C. healthcare workers.
| Principal Investigators: | Annalee Yassi (Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare in B.C.) and Philip Bigelow (University of British Columbia) |
| Co-investigators: | Robert Hogg (University of British Columbia); Janine Jagger (University of Virginia) |
| Workplace Partners: | Vancouver Island Health Authority; Health Sciences Association of B.C.; B.C. Nurses Union |
| Funding Awarded: | $99,880 (2 years) |
| Year Funded: | 2003 |
Reducing Cytotoxic Drug Exposure in Healthcare: Determinants Influencing Cleaning Effectiveness
This research seeks to determine the effectiveness of cleaning agents and procedures used on work surfaces that become contaminated with cytotoxic drugs. Researchers will examine a range of cleaning agents and procedures to determine which ones permit better control of environmental contamination, and therefore reduce the exposure of workers to cytotoxic drugs.
| Principal Investigators: | Prescillia Chua (Fraser Health) & Winnie Chu (University of British Columbia - SOEH) |
| Co-investigators: | Chun-Yip Hon (UBC), Quinn Danyluk (Fraser Health) |
| Funding Awarded: | $30,000 |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
Strengthening N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator Protection Programs by Evaluating the Contribution of Each of the Program Elements
This research will focus on N95 filtering facepiece respirators used to protect workers from harmful airborne contaminants in the healthcare setting. The research aims to strengthen N95 respirator protection programs and to aid in better delivery of organizational pandemic preparedness plans.
| Principal Investigators: | Quinn Danyluk & Chun-Yip Hon (Fraser Health & Vancouver Coastal Health) |
| Co-investigators: | George Astrakianakis (OHSAH), Elizabeth Bryce (Vancouver Coastal Health), Bob Janssen (WorkSafeBC), Annalee Yassi (University of British Columbia) |
| Funding Awarded: | $242,117.98* (2 years) |
| Year Funded: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
Summative Evaluation of the Fish Safe Stability Education Program: A Multifaceted Approach
This project will conduct an evaluation on the effectiveness of a program entitled “Fish Safe Stability Education Program” in place since 2005. This research will attempt to show whether the FSSEP is a significant factor in preventing injury and loss onboard commercial fishing vessels. The long-term summative evaluation of the FSSEP and its findings stand to inform the commercial fishing industry and all safety focused organizations and agencies about the link between education through indirect instruction techniques and safe working practices.
| Principal Applicant: | Barbara Howe (Quinte Marine Services Ltd.) |
| Maximum Budget: | $49,610 (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2007 |
The Effectiveness of Current Fire Fighter Rapid Intervention Teams
This research aims to improve rescue approaches for lost, trapped, and injured fire fighters at an emergency scene. The proposed research will attempt to do so by analyzing current Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) protocols and provide recommendations that can improve current RIT practices.
| Principal Applicant: | James Carter (Justice Institute of British Columbia) |
| Co-Applicants: | Steve Wright (Port Coquitlam Fire & Emergency Services) |
| Maximum Budget: | $43,860 (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2008 |
Tracking BBF Exposures: The Implementation of the Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet™ at VIHA)
CompletedThis research proposal is designed to evaluate workers’ perceptions of risk in light of the implementation of an exposure control plan and the introduction of safety-engineered needle technology at the Vancouver Island Health Authority. This post-implementation survey will match a survey done prior to the adoption of this plan to allow for an examination of how risk perceptions have changed.
| Principal Investigators: | Annalee Yassi (Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare in B.C.) and Philip Bigelow (University of British Columbia) |
| Co-investigators: | Robert Hogg (University of British Columbia); Janine Jagger (University of Virginia) |
| Funding Awarded: | $170,760 (2 years) |
| Year Funded: | 2006 |
Warehouse Safety: Education & Evaluation (Video)
This project involves the production of a safety video designed for workers who have a developmental disability. Its purpose is to educate developmentally disabled adults currently employed or seeking employment. The video will be accompanied with a facilitator’s guide, including an interactive workshop component.
| Principal Applicant: | Kirsti Inglis (Developmental Disabilities Association) |
| Co-applicant: | Deanne Zeibart (Developmental Disabilities Association) |
| Funding Awarded: | $5,500* (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
Workplace Emergency Planning Inclusive of People with Disabilities
This research project will examine current workplace emergency planning practice in B.C. in relation to exclusivity of the needs of people with disabilities. The project will develop a practical handbook for employers on how to create and implement emergency plans that are inclusive of workers with disabilities.
| Principal Applicant: | Margaret Birrell (BC Coalition of People with Disabilities) |
| Co-applicant: | Karen Martin (Independent Contract Researcher) |
| Funding Awarded: | $38,870* (Innovation) |
| Year Funded: | 2007 |
*In partnership with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia