Benjamin C Amick

• PhD
• Chair at Florida International University

Background Studies on the impact of workplace safety inspections on work injuries have found mixed effectiveness. Most studies are from the United States, examining Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulatory inspections in manufacturing firms with more than 10 employees. This study examines whether regulatory inspections in Alb...

Evidence-based practice or evidence-informed decision-making is considered a vital and practical approach to prevent workplace accidents and injuries (van Dijk et al., 2010; Van Eerd, 2019). Despite discussions to better support evidence-informed practice in occupational health and safety (OHS) (Baker et al., 2015; Schulte, 2017; Waterson, 2016), O...

Background: Research has shown how regionally varying labor market conditions are associated with differences in work disability duration. However, the majority of these studies have not used multilevel models to appropriately account for the hierarchical clustering of individuals nested within contextual units (e.g., regions). Studies that have u...

Insight into the work functioning of workers with chronic diseases may help to improve their sustainable employability. This study examines the work functioning of workers with cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), rheumatoid arthritis and depression across early, mid, and late w...

Purpose: The Cognitive Symptom Checklist-Work (CSC-W) is a self-report measure to assess cognitive symptoms (i.e., memory and executive function) in working adults with cancer. To date, general working population norm data are lacking worldwide. We established CSC-W norm values in the general working population, and assessed associations of CSC-W...

Background: The consequences of a single point-in-time compared to cumulative exposure to psychosocial work conditions (PWCs) for young adults' mental health have received relatively little attention. This study investigates (i) the associations between single and cumulative exposure to adverse PWCs at ages 22 and 26 with mental health problems (M...

Zielstellungen: Bei Maßnahmen zum Erhalt der Beschäftigungsfähigkeit von Erwerbstätigen sollte auch ihre Funktionsfähigkeit berücksichtigt werden. Zu ihrer Erfassung eignet sich der mehrsprachig vorliegende Work Role Functioning Questionnaire (WRFQ). Eine deutschsprachig validierte Version fehlte bislang. Der 27-Item-Fragebogen wurde aus der nieder...

Objective We assessed the measurement properties of the German Work Role Functioning Questionnaire (WRFQ) after its cross-cultural adaptation of the Dutch version. The WRFQ is a generic role-specific instrument that measures how a particular health status influences the ability to meet work demands. Methods We performed an observational study amon...

Background Promoting safe driver behaviors is an important aspect of road safety. To better understand road safety behaviors, there is a role for practical instruments that can validly measure typical road safety behaviors among occupational drivers. The Occupational Driver Behavior Questionnaire (ODBQ) was developed to assess road safety behaviors...

Purpose Cognitive symptoms affect cancer survivors’ functioning at work. To date, cognitive symptoms trajectories in working cancer survivors and the factors associated with these trajectories have not been examined. Methods Data from a heterogeneous group of working cancer survivors (n = 379) of the longitudinal “Work-Life-after-Cancer” study, li...

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether an integrated return-to-work (RTW) and vocational rehabilitation (VR) program – the Work Reintegration (WR) program – was associated with reduced work disability duration in the construction sector in Ontario, Canada. Methods Workers’ compensation data from the Ontario Workplace Safety and...

Objectives Mental health problems (MHPs) during childhood and adolescence are negatively associated with having a paid job in young adulthood. Yet, little is known about how young adults function at work, that is, do they experience difficulties in meeting their job demands given their health state. This longitudinal study aims to examine the impac...

Objective The effectiveness of a regulatory training standard to prevent falls from heights in construction in the province of Ontario, Canada was evaluated. The standard specifies a full day of working-at-heights safety training, including both theoretical and practical elements, delivered by a government-approved training provider. Once the regul...

Introduction Mental health problems during childhood and adolescence are negatively associated with employment status (having a paid job or not) in young adulthood. Yet, little is known about how young adults function at work, i.e., do they experience difficulties in meeting job demands given their physical or mental health state. Objective This l...

Objective This study examines the association between 40 occupational groups and baseline prevalence and incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), separately for male and female workers, and whether age and health behaviors can explain the association. Methods Data from 74,857 Lifelines Cohort and Biobank Study participants were used to regress occu...

Introduction Return-to-work (RTW) in the construction sector is more challenging than in many other sectors. Between 2010 and 2011, the Ontario Workplace Safety Insurable Board (WSIB) introduced the Work Reintegration (WR) program in an attempt to improve RTW outcomes for injured workers. Objective To determine whether the WR program was associate...

Introduction: Long Term Care (LTC) facilities are fast-paced, demanding environments placing workers at significant risk for injuries. Health and safety interventions to address hazards in LTC are challenging to implement. The study assessed a participatory organizational change intervention implementation and impacts. Methods: This was a mixed...

Background Little is known about the timing and duration of mental health problems (MHPs) on young adults’ labour market participation (LMP). This life-course study aims to examine whether and how the timing and duration of MHPs between childhood and young adulthood are associated with LMP in young adulthood. Methods Logistic regression analyses w...

Objective: The Work Role Functioning Questionnaire 2.0 (WRFQ), measuring the percentage of time a worker has difficulties in meeting the work demands for a given health state, has shown strong reliability and validity in various populations with different chronic conditions. The present study aims to validate the WRFQ in working cancer patients....

Introduction This study examines the association between 40 occupational groups and prevalence and incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), separately for male and female workers, and whether age and health behaviors can explain the association. Research design and methods Data from 74 857 Lifelines Cohort and Biobank Study participants were used t...

Introduction: A regulatory training standard for construction workers using fall protection equipment became mandatory in 2015 in the province of Ontario, Canada. By the end of the transition period in 2017, 418,000 workers had been trained to the new standard. Two primary research questions were posed: (1) To what extent does the WAH training aff...

Objective: To examine associations between injury-related work disability duration and urban-rural place of residence and whether associations differed across the disability distribution and by industry sector. Methods: Workers' compensation claims from six Canadian provinces were extracted between 2011 and 2015. Multivariable quantile regressio...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use a comparative qualitative case study design to better understand how the observed characteristics of an organization correspond to their score on the organizational performance metric (IWH-OPM), a leading indicator tool designed to measure an organization’s occupational health and safety (OHS) performance...

Background Many young adults leave the labour market because of mental health problems or never really enter it, through early moves onto disability benefits. Across many countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, between 30% and 50% of all new disability benefit claims are due to mental health problems; among young ad...

Objective To examine the reciprocal longitudinal associations between depression or anxiety with work-related injury (WRI) at a large employer in the southwestern United States. Method Three administrative datasets (2011–2013) were merged: employee eligibility, medical and prescription claims, and workers’ compensation claims. The sample contained...

Purpose Research has shown that there are important sex and gender-based differences in the work disability duration of men and women. This research is often limited to single jurisdictions, using different outcome measures, and therefore has limited generalisability of findings. This study examined if differences between work disability of men and...

Despite the growing awareness of the importance of using research to inform occupational health and safety (OHS) practice, little is known about whether this information is applied in workplaces. As part of two research projects, organizational leaders were provided with benchmarking reports to support OHS decision-making and performance improvemen...

Objective The Work Role Functioning Questionnaire v2.0 (WRFQ) is an outcome measure linking a persons' health to the ability to meet work demands in the twenty-first century. We aimed to examine the construct validity of the WRFQ in a heterogeneous set of working samples in the Netherlands with mixed clinical conditions and job types to evaluate th...

Objective: The study aims to develop and validate short versions of the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire v2.0 (WRFQ) that retain the measurement properties of the full-length 27-item questionnaire. Study design and setting: Six cross-sectional Dutch samples (N=2433) were used, containing data on gender, self-rated health, job type and WRFQ sc...

Purpose To investigate whether participants in a small group team challenge had greater completion rates in an institution-wide step-challenge than other participants. Design A quasi-experimental, posttest-only design with a comparison group was used to evaluate group differences in completion rates. Setting A large university system provided the...

Background: Long-term care (LTC) workers are at significant risk for occupational-related injuries. Our objective was to evaluate the implementation process of a participatory change program to reduce risk. Methods: A process evaluation was conducted in three LTC sites using a qualitative approach employing structured interviews, consultant logs...

Introduction The burden of managing musculoskeletal pain and injuries (MSDs) and mental health (MH) conditions in the workplace is substantial. While overall rates of work injury have declined in most high-income countries, there have not been equivalent improvements in RTW rates. The primary objective of this review was to synthesise evidence on t...

Introduction Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and slips, trips, and falls (STF) are a major source of workplace injuries. In Ontario, MSD account for upwards of 40% and STF account for almost 20% of all lost-time claims depending on sector. Our objective was to integrate stakeholder perspectives about the implementation of a participatory ergonomics...

Purpose To evaluate factorial validity, scale reliability, test–retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the 8-item Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ) among employees from a public university system. Methods A secondary analysis using de-identified data from employees who completed an annual Health Assessment between...

Background: There is a need to understand physical activity types associated with health-related work limitations (also known as presenteeism). This study tests whether additive effects between physical activity types are associated with health-related work limitations among employees from a public university system. Methods: A cross-sectional s...

This study evaluates the longitudinal relation between self-reported physical activity and health related work limitations (also known as presenteeism) among employees from a public university system. A retrospective longitudinal study design was used to examine research aims. Data were from self-reported health assessments collected from employees...

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate relations between aerobic physical activity (PA), muscle-strengthening PA, and stretching behavior and presenteeism in university employees. Methods: A cross-sectional study used health assessment data from two employee respondent groups (n2015 = 10,791 and n2009 = 10,165). Multivariable zero-infl...

This exploratory study sought to identify the factors important to large improvement in workplace occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. Mixed methods were used to systematically identify 12 organizations in a workers’ compensation database that had made large and intentional improvement in workplace OHS performance in Ontario, Canada, d...

Current work and health research is fragmented, focusing on jobs, exposures, specific worker groups, work organization, or employment contracts. An emphasis on the labor market in framing the work and health relationship conceptualizes work not only as an exposure that increases or lessens health risk but also as a life course experience that is de...

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether management system practices directed at both occupational health and safety (OHS) and operations (joint management system [JMS] practices) result in better outcomes in both areas than in alternative practices. Methods: Separate regressions were estimated for OHS and operational outcomes u...

ABSTRACT Objective: The purposes of this study were to: 1) examine agreement between self-reported measures of mobile device use and direct measures of use, and 2) understand how respondents thought about their device use when they provided self-reports. Methods: Self-reports of six categories of device use were obtained using a previously develope...

The burden of disabling musculoskeletal pain and injuries (musculoskeletal disorders, MSDs) arising from work-related causes in many workplaces remains substantial. There is little consensus on the most appropriate interventions for MSDs. Our objective was to update a systematic review of workplace-based interventions for preventing and managing up...

Do Ontario unionized construction firms have lower workers' compensation claims rates compared with nonunion firms? Building trade and construction trade association lists of union contractors were linked to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board claims data for 2006 to 2012. Data were pooled for 2006 to 2012, and negative binomial regressions conduc...

Turnover hurts patient care quality and is expensive to hospitals. Improved employee engagement could encourage employees to stay at their organization. The aim of the study was to test whether participants in an employee engagement program were less likely than nonparticipants to leave their job. Health care workers (primarily patient care technic...

Purpose To examine the predictive validity of the Return-to-Work Self-Efficacy (RTWSE) Scale in terms of the scale's baseline absolute values and of changes in self-efficacy scores, with the outcome of return-to-work (RTW) status in a sample of injured workers with upper extremity and back musculoskeletal disorders. Methods RTWSE was measured with...

To investigate the predictive ability of the Upper-Limb Work Instability Scale (UL-WIS) for transitioning out of work among injured workers with chronic work-related upper-extremity disorders (WRUEDs) DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a 12-month cohort study with data collection at baseline, and 3, 6, and 12-month follow-up. Survey questionnaires were...

To examine the responsiveness of the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire (Spanish version) (WRFQ-SpV) so that it could be used in evaluative studies. A longitudinal survey was performed. Combinations of distribution- and anchor-based approaches were used. Five hypotheses were tested, examining validity of change scores. The consensus-based standard...

Purpose: Recently, the cross-cultural adaptation of the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire to Spanish was carried out, achieving satisfactory psychometric properties. Now we examined the reliability and validity of the adapted [Work role functioning questionnaire-Spanish version (WRFQ-SpV)] in a general working population with and without (physica...

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. The 2003/2005 Canadian Communit...

This commentary responds to the recent critique by Weinstock and Slatin [1] of our systematic review on the effectiveness of occupational safety and health (OSH) training conducted jointly by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Canada and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in the United States [2, 3]. We address...

This exploratory research employs a series of cases studies and a multi-stakeholder perspective to examine safety practices and outcomes in the wider context of business operations. The aims of the research include enhancing the understanding of the practices critical for safe workplaces and of the business value (positive or negative) of safety. F...

Purpose: This paper presents results from a Campbell systematic review on the nature and effectiveness of workplace disability management programs (WPDM) promoting return to work (RTW), as implemented and practiced by employers. A classification of WPDM program components, based on the review results, is proposed. Methods: Twelve databases were...

Background This study describes the association between unemployment and cause-specific mortality for a cohort of working-age Canadians. Methods We conducted a cohort study over an 11-year period among a broadly representative 15% sample of the non-institutionalized population of Canada aged 30–69 at cohort inception in 1991 (888,000 men and 711,6...

This study sought to examine provincial variation in work injuries and to assess whether contextual factors are associated with geographic variation in work injuries. Individual-level data from the 2003 and 2005 Canadian Community Health Survey was obtained for a representative sample of 89,541 Canadians aged 15 to 75 years old who reported working...

Aging, health, and retirement are closely related in modern industrialized societies such as the United States. Starting in the 1800s and continuing through the early 1900s, old age pensions, fixed age retirement, and government sponsored pension plans were introduced by Germany, France and England, which meant that persons no longer had to work un...

Objective: To investigate the incentive for primary and secondary prevention associated with experience rating in a retrospective workers' compensation program. Methods: Panel data on 21,558 firms from 1998 to 2007 were used to estimate the relationship between the degree of experience rating and seven measures of workplace occupational health a...

Purpose: To help workers to stay at work in a healthy productive and sustainable way and for the development of interventions to improve work functioning, it is important to have insight in prognostic factors for successful work functioning. The aim of this study is to identify prognostic factors for successful work functioning in a general workin...

Purpose: To examine the factorial validity of the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ-25) among workers' compensation claimants with chronic upper-limb disorders. Methods: Attendees of the WSIB Shoulder and Elbow Specialty clinic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, completed a survey that includes the WLQ-25 [4 subscales: time-management (TM), physical...

This report presents a Campbell systematic review on the effectiveness of workplace disability management programs (WPDM programs) promoting return to work (RTW), as implemented and practised by employers. The objectives of this review were to assess the effects of WPDM programs, to examine components or combination of components, which appear more...

Objective: From 2004 to 2008, the prevention system in Ontario, Canada ran the High Risk Firm Initiative, an injury-experience based targeted consultation or inspection programme. Our objective was to establish whether prevention system targeting of firms was effective in improving injury outcomes. Methods: Randomised controlled parallel groups....

Objective: The study objectives were to perform a cross-cultural adaptation of the Work Role Functioning Questionnaire, a health-related work outcome measure, into Dutch and to assess the questionnaire's reliability and validity in the Dutch context (WRFQ-DV). Participants: 40 workers with a health problem (duration > one month). Methods: The...

Objective: Evaluate the validity of two self-report symptoms surveys with two disorder classification protocols. Participants: 100 graduate students at a private school in the Southwest United States. Methods: Study participants completed two self-report upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms surveys: a nine item 10 cm Visual Analogue Scale...

Despite international efforts to implement smoking bans, several national legislations still allow smoking and recommend mechanical systems, such as ventilation and air extraction, to eliminate secondhand smoke (SHS) health-related risks. We aimed to quantify the relative contribution of mechanical systems and smoking bans to SHS elimination. A cro...

Examine uses of US workers' compensation (WC) data for occupational safety and health purposes. This article is a summary of the proceedings from an invitational workshop held in September 2009 to discuss the use of WC data for occupational safety and health prevention purposes. Workers' compensation data systems, although limited in many ways, con...

Objectives: To investigate the incentive for health and safety and cost management at the firm level associated with the degree of experience rating in a retrospective workers’ compensation programme in Ontario, Canada. Methods: We use panel data on all firms in the principal Ontario experience-rating programme between 1998 and 2007 to estimate reg...

Systematic Review. To determine which intervention approaches to manage depression in the workplace have been successful and yielded value for employers in developed economies. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Central, PsycINFO, and Business Source Premier up to June 2010 using search terms in four broad areas: work setting, depression, interve...

Reliable and valid measurement of workplace organizational policies and practices (OPPs) is needed to evaluate their influences on the prevention and management of occupational injuries. Injured workers (n = 614) attending an upper-limb specialty clinic operated by the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board of Ontario were recruited for a 1-year study....

Training is regarded as an important component of occupational health and safety (OHS) programs. This paper primarily addresses whether OHS training has a beneficial effect on workers. The paper also examines whether higher engagement OHS training has a greater effect than lower engagement training. Ten bibliographic databases were searched for pre...

Examine the effects of two office ergonomics interventions in reducing visual symptoms at a private sector worksite. A quasi-experimental study design evaluated the effects of a highly adjustable chair with office ergonomics training intervention (CWT group) and the training only (TO group) compared with no intervention (CO group). Data collection...

Examine the effect of a multi-component office ergonomics intervention on visual symptom reductions. Office workers were assigned to either a group receiving a highly adjustable chair with office ergonomics training (CWT), a training-only group (TO) or a control group (C). A work environment and health questionnaire was administered 2 and 1 month(s...

During the past decade, common mental disorders (CMD) have emerged as a major public and occupational health problem in many countries. Several instruments have been developed to measure the influence of health on functioning at work. To select appropriate instruments for use in occupational health practice and research, the measurement properties...

Chronic disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Risk factors and work conditions can be addressed through health promotion aimed at improving individual health behaviors; health protection, including occupational safety and health interventions; and efforts to support the work-family interface. Responding to the need to address...

The Work Limitations Questionnaire-25 (WLQ-25) and the Work Instability Scale for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA-WIS) have been used to measure at-work disability related to musculoskeletal disorders. However, a recent systematic review has shown that important psychometric properties still needed to be evaluated. The purpose of this study was to establi...

The study aims were, in a population of university students, staff, and faculty (n = 140), to: 1) determine the distribution of seven measures of mobile device use; 2) determine the distribution of musculoskeletal symptoms of the upper extremity, upper back and neck; and 3) assess the relationship between device use and symptoms. 137 of 140 partici...

Return to work after a leave on disability is a common phenomenon, but little is known about the attitudes of employees or their supervisors towards the disability management process. We report on employee and supervisor feedback from one disability management experience. 389 consecutive employees from the Ontario offices of a single private Canadi...

Self-reported exposure duration to computer use is widely used in exposure assessment, and this study examined the associated information bias in a repeated measures setting. For 3 weeks, 30 undergraduate students reported daily cumulative computer-use duration and musculoskeletal symptoms at four random times per day. Usage-monitor software instal...

To describe the incidence of avoidable mortality for causes amenable to medical care among occupation groups in Canada. A cohort study over an 11-year period among a representative 15% sample of the non-institutionalized population of Canada aged 30-69 at cohort inception. Age-standardized mortality rates for causes amenable to medical care and all...

To describe the association between occupation and risk of suicide among working-age men and women in Canada. This study of suicide mortality over an 11-year period is based on a broadly representative 15% sample of the noninstitutionalized population of Canada aged 30 to 69 years at cohort inception. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) and ra...

Health care work is dangerous and multiple interventions have been tested to reduce the occupational hazards. A systematic review of the literature used a best evidence synthesis approach to address the general question "Do occupational safety and health interventions in health care settings have an effect on musculoskeletal health status?" This wa...

To analyze the perceptions and appreciations over smoke-free environments of restaurant and bar managers from four cities in central Mexico. Managers from 219 restaurants and bars from Mexico City, Colima, Cuernavaca and Toluca were surveyed about smoke-free environments opinions and implementation. Simultaneously, environmental nicotine was monito...

Objective. To analyze the perceptions and appreciations over smoke-free environments of restaurant and bar managers from four cities in central Mexico. Material and Methods. Managers from 219 restaurants and bars from Mexico City, Colima, Cuernavaca and Toluca were surveyed about smoke-free environments opinions and implementation. Simultaneously,...

Little is known about the most effective occupational health and safety (OHS) interventions to reduce upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and injuries. A systematic review used a best evidence synthesis approach to address the question: "do occupational health and safety interventions have an effect on upper extremity musculoskeletal s...

This article reports on a systematic review of workplace ergonomic interventions with economic evaluations. The review sought to answer the question: "what is the credible evidence that incremental investment in ergonomic interventions is worth undertaking?" Past efforts to synthesize evidence from this literature have focused on effectiveness, whe...

This systematic review was conducted to identify effective occupational health and safety interventions for small businesses. The review focused on peer-reviewed intervention studies conducted in small businesses with 100 or fewer employees, that were published in English and several other languages, and that were not limited by publication date. M...

Background: Although numerous studies have examined the association of area socioeconomic status (SES) and cancer screening after controlling for individual SES, findings have been inconsistent. A systematic review of existing studies is timely to identify conceptual and methodologic limitations and to provide a basis for future research directions...

Recent literature identified upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms at a prevalence of >40% in college populations. The study objectives were to determine weekly computer use and the prevalence of upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms in a graduate student population, and make comparisons with previous graduate and undergraduate cohorts. One h...

There is a great deal of recent interest and debate concerning the linkages between inequality and health cross-nationally. The U.S. National Institutes of Health recommended in 2001 that any new research on health disparities should include social and cultural systems as units of analysis. Nevertheless, many public health interventions and policie...

In a 2001 report, the U.S. National Institutes of Health called for more integration of the social sciences into health-related research, including research guided by theories and methods that take social and cultural systems into consideration. Based on a theoretical framework that integrates Hofstede's cultural dimensions with sociological theory...

The study examines temporal variations in upper-extremity musculoskeletal symptoms throughout the day, over a week and throughout the semester. 30 undergraduates were followed in a repeated measures study throughout a semester. Upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms data were collected on handheld computers randomly throughout the day for seven d...

To determine agreement between two posture assessment survey instruments and which, if any, were correlated with experiencing upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms. Thirty undergraduate participants had three postural assessment surveys completed, one each for three separate 7-day data collection periods during a semester. Two observation assess...

Over half of surveyed college students are experiencing pain they are attributing to computer use. The study objective was to evaluate the effect of computing patterns on upper extremity musculoskeletal symptoms. Symptom experiences and computing/break patterns were reported several times daily over three weeks for 30 undergraduate students over a...