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Background: Cultures of safety in farm work settings are under the authority of a responsible owner‐operator, who establishes rules, attitudes, and behaviors for farm work practices. This novel analysis provides new evidence to show that risks that can lead to injury and are commonly practiced on Canadian farms are indeed transferred between generations. Methods: Baseline data were provided by representatives from eligible and consenting farms (n = 589) in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, during the first quarter of 2013. Mailed questionnaires were sent to participating farms and completed by a single respondent. Questionnaires included scaled assessments of hazards and safety practices by farm operators, and young workers on each farm. Descriptive and multiple regression analyses were used to examine relationships between farm owner‐operator risks and safety practices and those reported for the young workers. Findings: Graphical descriptive analyses showed that as farm owner‐operator risks increased, so did those reported for children and young workers. Similarly, as farm owner‐operator safe work practices increased, young worker hazards decreased, albeit more modestly. The young worker hazard scale increased by 0.20 (95% CI: 0.10‐0.30) points, and decreased by 0.08 (95% CI: –0.016 to –0.000) points for each one‐point increase in the owner‐operator hazard and safe work practices scales, respectively. Conclusions: Occupational health and safety risks and protections experienced on farms appear to be transferred between generations. This suggests the need to target farm owner‐operators, the responsible authority on the farm, as a focus of primary prevention strategies aimed at injury risks to children and young workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on interviews with civil society actors in the AIDS Service Organization (ASO) sector in Canada, this article explores how these actors contribute to shaping the illness identities of people living with HIV/AIDS in the shadow of efforts to criminalize exposure to HIV. While the biographically disruptive qualities associated with an HIV diagnosis have been addressed in the medical sociology literature, we turn our attention to the key role played by ASOs as interlocutors in this process. Paying specific attention to the intersection of processes of medicalization and criminalization, we ask how they are re‐stigmatizing a condition that has shifted in the public consciousness from its earlier association with deviance and moral culpability. One important implication of our findings concerns the need to take greater account of how the illness identity and experience can be shaped by a 'biography of telling', of a renewed pressure to disclose intimate details of one's health status as a way to perform responsible practices of citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Concern regarding functioning and effectiveness of joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) in Ontario hospitals was raised following the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak in 2003. A subsequent literature review revealed a lack of studies focused within the healthcare sector. Methods A tool to measure JHSC effectiveness was developed by a panel of occupational health and safety experts based on a framework from the healthcare sector. Usability testing was conducted in two phases with members of five hospital JHSCs before, during and after a committee meeting. Results Usability of the tool was scored high overall with an average of > 4 on a 5 point scale across twelve items. Downward adjustment of self-assessment scores was reported following JHSC meetings. Conclusion Findings demonstrated that the tool was easy to use, effective in supporting discussion and in assisting participants in reaching consensus on rating a large number of JHSC characteristics. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:368-376, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To describe OH&S vulnerability across a diverse sample of Canadian workers. Methods A survey was administered to 1,835 workers employed more than 15 hrs/week in workplaces with at least five employees. Adjusted logistic models were fitted for three specific and one overall measure of workplace vulnerability developed based on hazard exposure and access to protective OH&S policies and procedures, awareness of employment rights and responsibilities, and workplace empowerment. Results More than one third of the sample experienced some OH&S vulnerability. The type and magnitude of vulnerability varied by labor market sub-group. Younger workers and those in smaller workplaces experienced significantly higher odds of multiple types of vulnerability. Temporary workers reported elevated odds of overall, awareness- and empowerment-related vulnerability, while respondents born outside of Canada had significantly higher odds of awareness vulnerability. Conclusion Knowing how labor market sub-groups experience different types of vulnerability can inform better-tailored primary prevention interventions. Am. J. Ind. Med. 59:119-128, 2016. © 2015 The Authors. American Journal of Industrial Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, researchers on organizational climate have focused on the 'issue-specific' nature of climate, such as the climate for safety or service, or, in this case, the climate for human resources. This has resulted in a clearer connection between specific climates and relevant outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings from an exploratory study that was conducted in Canada that served to help us understand the aspects of workplace climate with a focus on human resources ( HR). In this study, interview data was collected from 14 HR managers from across western Canada, some of which were from healthcare organizations. The benefit of this research is to better understand the current climate within organisations and to develop a construct for HR climates that can be used to build capacity in the research, training, and practice of HR within health-care (and other industries) in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper uses new data to examine the gap in injury and fatality rates between immigrant men and women and their Canadian-born counterparts. Methods Data from the 2011 National Household Survey and the Association of Workers′ Compensation Boards of Canada were used to determine the difference in occupational and industry injury and fatality rates between various arrival cohorts of immigrants and those Canadian born. Results For both men and women, there is no significant difference in occupational injury and fatality rates between various arrival cohorts of immigrants and Canadian-born workers. However, industry injury and fatality rates are lower for the most recent arrival cohorts of immigrants relative to Canadian-born workers. Conclusions Although immigrants face many hurdles and challenges in their resettlement process in Canada, given the evidence from the paper, they are not likely to be at higher risk for work-related injuries relative to those Canadian-born. Am. J. Ind. Med. 58:933-942, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how precarious legal status circumscribes differential inclusion in the agricultural labor market and affects workers' lives through a comparative study of workplace health and safety among temporary migrant guest workers and immigrants in Canada. Original, multimethod research with South Asian immigrant and Mexican migrant farmworkers examines employment practices, working conditions, and health-care access. We find that both groups engage in precarious work, with consequences for their health and safety, including immigrant workers with citizenship. Nevertheless, migrant guest workers are subject to more coercive forms of labor discipline and a narrower range of social protection than immigrants. We argue that while formal citizenship can mitigate some dimensions of precariousness for farmworkers racialized as non-white, achieving a more just, safer food system will require broader policies to improve employer compliance and address legislative shortcomings that only weakly protect agricultural labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The study sought to identify gender differences in work-related repetitive strain injuries (RSI), as well as examine the degree to which non-work factors such as family roles interact with gender to modify RSI risk. Another aim is to examine whether there are potential provincial differences in work-related RSI risk. Methods The 2003/2005 Canadian Community Health Survey included over 89,000 respondents who reported working in the past 12 months. Separate multi-level models for men and women were used to identify the correlates of work-related RSIs. Results Women reported sustaining more work-related RSIs than men. Also, having one or more children in the household was associated with lower work-related RSI risk for females. Both men and women in British Columbia reported higher work-related RSI rates than in Ontario. Conclusions Gender contributes to RSI risk in multiple and diverse ways based on labor market segregation, non-work exposures, and possibly biological vulnerability, which suggests more tailored interventions. Also, the provincial differences indicate that monitoring and surveillance of work injury across jurisdictions can assist in province-wide prevention and occupational health and safety evaluation. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:1180-1189, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) are widely acknowledged as important to a healthy and safe work environment. However, it is also generally believed that having a JHSC is necessary but not sufficient; the JHSC must be effective. Methods A systematic review was undertaken to find empirical studies regarding the effectiveness of JHSCs; realist review methodology was applied to determine context-mechanism-outcome patterns. Experts from across Canada and from various sectors and perspectives including government, employers, and unions, were brought together to inform the synthesis. Results Thirty-one studies met inclusion criteria. Mechanisms identified as important determinants of JHSC effectiveness across various jurisdictions include adequate information, education and training; appropriate committee composition; senior management commitment to JHSCs; and especially a clear mandate with a broad scope and corresponding empowerment (through legislation and/or union presence). Conclusions Consistent empowerment mechanisms emerge as determinants of successful JHSCs across contexts despite few evidence-based details for best practice implementation. Intervention research is warranted. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:424-438, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the impact of too much heat exposure to the health and physiology of workers in their work environment in Canada. It discusses the industrial policies and legislation being implemented by Canadian provinces under its labor codes which uses guidelines that were recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). It explores how Canada predicts and manages heat stress among workers in the workplace to ensure industrial safety.

Background Urinalysis testing in the work-place has been adopted widely by employers in the United States to deter employee drug use and promote ‘drug-free’ work-places. In other countries, such as Canada, testing is focused more narrowly on identifying employees whose drug use puts the safety of others at risk. Aims We review 20 years of published literature on questions relevant to the objectives of work-place drug testing (WPDT), with a special emphasis on cannabis, the most commonly detected drug. Results We conclude (i) that the acute effects of smoking cannabis impair performance for a period of about 4 hours; (ii) long-term heavy use of cannabis can impair cognitive ability, but it is not clear that heavy cannabis users represent a meaningful job safety risk unless using before work or on the job; (iii) urine tests have poor validity and low sensitivity to detect employees who represent a safety risk; (iv) drug testing is related to reductions in the prevalence of cannabis positive tests among employees, but this might not translate into fewer cannabis users; and (v) urinalysis has not been shown to have a meaningful impact on job injury/accident rates. Conclusions Urinalysis testing is not recommended as a diagnostic tool to identify employees who represent a job safety risk from cannabis use. Blood testing for active tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can be considered by employers who wish to identify employees whose performance may be impaired by their cannabis use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the health and safety perceptions and practices of conventional, no till and organic grain farmers in Ontario Canada. Based on 12 intensive case studies, the analysis examines whether different restructuring and environmental orientations are related to different approaches to occupational health and safety. The analysis suggests that although there is a substantial level of awareness and knowledge of health and safety hazards among all the farmers, significant differences in practices are linked in complex and somewhat unexpected ways to the production and environmental approaches of the farmers. In particular, while economic constraints and rationales provide an overriding basis for risk-taking across all the farmers, the level and form that this takes is shaped by farmer orientations to farm management and the environment. The article also links both the common patterns and variations in farmer practices to corporate and government discourses on the prevention of environmental and occupational injuries, suggesting that mixed messages undermine any effort to intensify farmer commitment to safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores worker participation in workplace health and safety in Canada. Labor legislation in the province of Saskatchewan and other provinces; Description on the activities of the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.