Differences in access to wage replacement benefits for absences due to work-related injury or illness in Canada

The Relative Burden of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in Firefighters: An Analysis of Washington Workers' Compensation Claims, 2006-2020

Firefighters face many hazards on the job and have a high rate of work-related injuries and illnesses (WRII). We analyzed Washington workers' compensation claims from 2006-2020 to characterize WRII in firefighters compared to law enforcement officers and "all other" workers. There were 9187 compensable claims for firefighters, 7801 for law enforcement officers, and 586,939 for "all other" workers. Nearly 40% of claims for firefighters were work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The claim rate per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) firefighters was 716.4, which is significantly higher than that of law enforcement officers (510.0) and "all other" workers (163.2). The rate per 10,000 FTE of WMSD claims was also higher in firefighters (277.0) than in law enforcement officers (76.2) and "all other" workers (57.6). Additional WRII among firefighters commonly included being struck or caught in objects, slipping or tripping, and exposure to caustic or noxious substances; and amongst law enforcement, transportation accidents and violence. Medical costs and time-loss days per claim were lower for firefighters and law enforcement than for "all other" workers. Common tasks associated with WMSDs in firefighters included lifting and transporting patients, using specific tools and equipment, and physical training. WMSDs stand out as an area for prevention and intervention activities.

Systemic barriers to reporting work injuries and illnesses in contexts of language barriers

BACKGROUND

Workers who experience language barriers are at increased risk of work-related injuries and illnesses and face difficulties reporting these health problems to their employer and workers' compensation. In the existing occupational health and safety literature, however, such challenges are often framed in individual-level terms. We identify systemic barriers to reporting among injured workers who experience language barriers within the varying contexts of Ontario and Quebec, Canada.

METHODS

This study merges data from two qualitative studies that investigated experiences with workers' compensation and return-to-work, respectively, for injured workers who experience language barriers. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 39 workers and 70 stakeholders in Ontario and Quebec. Audio recordings were transcribed and coded using NVivo software. The data was analysed thematically and iteratively.

RESULTS

Almost all workers (34/39) had filed a claim, though most had initially delayed reporting their injuries or illnesses to their employer or to workers' compensation. Workers faced several obstacles to reporting, including confusion surrounding the cause and severity of injuries and illnesses; lack of information, misinformation, and disinformation about workers' compensation; difficulties accessing and interacting with care providers; fear and insecurity linked to precarity; claim suppression by employers; negative perceptions of, and experiences with, workers' compensation; and lack of supports. Language barriers amplified each of these difficulties, resulting in significant negative impacts in economic, health, and claim areas.

CONCLUSION

Improving the linguistic and cultural competence of organizations and their representatives is insufficient to address under-reporting among workers who experience language barriers. Efforts to improve timely reporting must tackle the policies and practices that motivate and enable under-reporting for workers, physicians, and employers.

Ethnocultural Minority Workers and Sustainable Return to Work Following Work Disability: A Qualitative Interpretive Description Study

Purpose This article provides a state-of-the-art review of issues and factors associated with the sustainable return to work (S-RTW) of ethnocultural minority workers experiencing disability situations attributable to one of four major causes: musculoskeletal disorders, common mental disorders, other chronic diseases or cancer. Methods Using an interpretive description method, an integrative review was conducted of the literature on ethnocultural factors influencing S-RTW issues and factors associated with these four major work-disability causes. An initial review of the 2006-2016 literature was subsequently updated for November 2016-May 2021. To explore and contextualize the results, four focus groups were held with RTW stakeholders representing workplaces, insurers, the healthcare system and workers. Qualitative thematic analysis was performed. Results A total of 56 articles were analyzed and 35 stakeholders participated in four focus groups. Two main findings emerged. First, belonging to an ethnocultural minority group appears associated with cumulative risk factors that may contribute to vulnerability situations and compound the complexity of S-RTW. Second, cultural differences with respect to the prevailing host-country culture may generate communication and trust issues, and conflicts in values and representations, in turn possibly hindering the establishment of positive relationships among all stakeholders and the ability to meet workers' needs. Being a woman in these groups and/or having a lower level of integration into the host country's culture also appear associated with greater S-RTW challenges. Conclusions Based on our findings, we recommend several possible strategies, such as the cultural humility model, for preventing differences from exacerbating the already significant vulnerability situation of some ethnocultural minority workers.

A Framework for Understanding How Variation in Health Care Service Delivery Affects Work Disability Management

Introduction Differences in disability duration after work injury have been observed across jurisdictions, regions and urban and rural settings. A key aspect of effective disability management is the access and utilization of appropriate and high quality health care. This paper presents a framework for analyzing and thus understanding how health service spending and utilization vary across and within work disability management schemes and affect work disability management. Methods Our framework was developed through a literature review and policy analysis. Existing frameworks describing geographic variation in general health care systems identified factors believed to drive that variation. A review of policy and practice documents from Canada's no-fault cause-based work disability management system identified factors relevant to work disability systems. Results We expand on previous frameworks by taking a systems approach that centers on factors relevant to the work disability management system. We further highlight predisposing, enabling, workplace environment and need-based factors that could lead to variation in health care spending and utilization across and within jurisdictions. These factors are described as shaping the interactions between workers, health care providers, employers and work disability management system actors, and influencing work disability management health and employment outcomes. Conclusion Our systems-focused approach offers a guide for researchers and policymakers to analyze how various factors may influence spending and utilization across regions and to identify areas for improvement in health care delivery within work disability management systems. Next steps include testing the framework in an analysis looking at geographic variation in spending and utilization across and within Canadian work disability management systems.

Immigrant status, gender and work disability duration: findings from a linked, retrospective cohort of workers' compensation and immigration data from British Columbia, Canada

OBJECTIVES

To compare differences in work disability durations of immigrant men and women injured at work to comparable Canadian-born injured workers in British Columbia, Canada.

METHODS

Data on accepted workers compensation claims and immigration status from 1995 and 2012 were used to compare the number of work disability days paid at the 25%, 50% and 75% for immigrant and Canadian-born injured workers stratified by gender and recency of immigration.

RESULTS

Immigrant workers comprised 8.9% (78 609) of the cohort. In adjusted quantile regression models, recent and established immigrant women received 1.3 (0.8, 1.9) and 4.0 (3.4, 4.6) more paid disability days at the 50% of the disability distribution than Canadian-born counterparts. For recent and established immigrant men, this difference was 2.4 (2.2, 2.6) and 2.7 (2.4, 4.6). At the 75%, this difference increased for recent immigrant men and established immigrant men and women but declined for recent immigrant women.

CONCLUSIONS

Injured immigrants receive more work disability days than their Canadian-born counterparts except for recent immigrant women. Both immigrant status and gender matter in understanding health disparities in work disability after work injury. KEYWORDS WORK DISABILITY: immigrant health; linked administrative data.

Language Accommodations in Workers' Compensation: Comparing Ontario and Quebec

Workers who experience language barriers are more likely to get injured or sick because of their work and have poorer claim and return-to-work outcomes compared to other workers. To better understand the systemic factors that shape access to compensation in contexts of language barriers, we compared language accommodation policies and practices in the Quebec and Ontario workers’ compensation systems. We uncovered gaps limiting access to professional interpreters in both provinces, although gaps were more pronounced in Quebec where workers were responsible for the cost of interpreters. We argue that simply improving the linguistic competence of workers’ compensation systems is not sufficient to tackle access barriers and must be accompanied by efforts to address the root causes of social and economic inequities for workers who experience language barriers.

Examining the impact of occupational health and safety vulnerability on injury claim reporting in three Canadian provinces

INTRODUCTION

The workers' compensation system covers wages and health care costs associated with work-related injuries or illnesses. We explore if dimensions of occupational health and safety vulnerability are associated with differences in reporting work-related injuries to workers' compensation boards (WCBs).

METHODS

We examined data from adults reporting physical workplace injuries requiring time off or health care. We explored relationships between exposure to nine hazards, risk from inadequate policies and procedures, inadequate occupational health and safety (OHS) awareness, inadequate empowerment, and reporting to provincial WCBs. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to assess risk from dimensions of workplace vulnerability for not reporting an injury to WCBs.

RESULTS

Of 326 participants, 64% did not report injuries to WCBs. Reporting was higher among those with hazardous workplace exposures compared to those without (40% vs 22%, P = .01), lower among those with inadequate policy and procedures and inadequate awareness protections. Inadequate OHS awareness protection was related to not reporting to WCBs in logistic regression models. Women, those working part-time, workers in education, health, and public administration, and non-unionized workers were less likely to report injuries (nonsignificant), while workers with postgraduate educations were significantly less likely to report an injury compared to referent (OR = 3.89, 95% CI: 1.57-9.62).

CONCLUSION

A general lack of knowledge about OHS rights and responsibilities was associated with low levels of reporting. This suggests there is a knowledge deficit among some workers, possibly amenable to joint efforts to increase rights and responsibilities related to OHS with the dissemination of information about rights to workers' compensation.

Injury among the immigrant population in Canada: exploring the research landscape through a systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND

Injuries are the leading cause of death among younger Canadians and represent a large economic burden on the Canadian population. Although immigrants comprise more than 20% of the Canadian population, the research landscape on injury in this group is unclear. We conducted a scoping review to summarize existing research regarding injuries among Canadian immigrants to identify research gaps and future research opportunities.

METHODS

Relevant electronic databases of peer-reviewed articles and grey literature were systematically searched. Original articles were selected based on predefined criteria. Relevant information from the articles was extracted and reported in the review.

RESULTS

After a comprehensive search, screening and full-text evaluation, 28 articles were selected for the synthesis. Of the injuries that have been studied among Canadian immigrants, the majority focused on occupational injuries, followed by road traffic accidents. Of the 28 studies, 16 were quantitative and 12 were qualitative. The research themes among occupational injury papers centred on factors leading to injury, factors leading to delayed reporting and compensation of injury and post-occupational injury experiences. Language barriers, informal training and the mismatch between education and occupation among immigrants were found to be the most frequent determinants of injury risk.

CONCLUSIONS

The synthesized knowledge in this scoping review offers an understanding of the current research landscape on injury among immigrants that can be used to assist policymakers, service providers, employers and researchers regarding injuries in this population.

Risk of work injury among adolescent students from single and partnered parent families

BACKGROUND

Parental involvement in keeping their children safe at work has been examined in a handful of studies, with mixed results. Evidence has suggested that non-work injury risk is higher among children from single-parent families, but little is known about their risk for work-related injuries.

METHODS

Five survey cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey were pooled to create a nationally representative sample of employed 15-19-year old students (N = 16,620). Multivariable logistic regression estimated the association between family status and work injury.

RESULTS

Risk of work-related repetitive strains (OR:1.24, 95%CI: 0.69-2.22) did not differ by family type. However, children of single parents were less likely to sustain a work injury receiving immediate medical care (OR:0.43, 95%CI: 0.19-0.96).

CONCLUSION

Despite advantages and disadvantages related to family types, there is no evidence that work-related injury risk among adolescents from single parent families is greater than that of partnered-parent families. Am. J. Ind. Med. 60:285-294, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Examining age differences in duration of wage replacement by injury characteristics

BACKGROUND

One explanation for why older age is associated with greater duration of wage replacement following a work-related injury may be that older workers sustain more severe injuries and different types of injury compared with their younger counterparts.

AIMS

To examine the role of injury-related characteristics in explaining the impact of age on wage replacement duration, and whether the relationship between age and wage replacement duration is consistent across injury types and levels of severity.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of workers' compensation claims in the Australian state of Victoria. In Victoria, only injuries which have accumulated >10 days of wage replacement, or have health care expenditures above a financial threshold, are eligible for compensation. Nested regression models were used to examine the relative contribution of injury-related characteristics to age differences in wage replacement duration.

RESULTS

Older age was associated with greater days of wage replacement among men and women, even after adjusting for injury characteristics. Adjustment for differences in injury types and compensation reporting practices resulted in moderate attenuation of the age-duration relationship among men and small attenuation among women. The age-duration relationship was consistent across injury types/severity.

CONCLUSIONS

The relationship between older age and greater duration of wage replacement is ubiquitous across injuries of different types and severity. Future research is required to understand better why older age is consistently associated with worse compensation outcomes following work-related injury.

"They See Us As Machines:" The Experience of Recent Immigrant Women in the Low Wage Informal Labor Sector

This study explores the organization of work and occupational health risk as elicited from recently immigrated women (n = 8) who have been in the US for less than three years and employed in informal work sectors such as cleaning and factory work in the greater Boston area in Massachusetts. Additional interviews (n = 8) with Community Key Informants with knowledge of this sector and representatives of temporary employment agencies in the area provides further context to the interviews conducted with recent immigrant women. These results were also compared with our immigrant occupational health survey, a large project that spawned this study. Responses from the study participants suggest health outcomes consistent with being a day-laborer scholarship, new immigrant women are especially at higher risk within these low wage informal work sectors. A difference in health experiences based on ethnicity and occupation was also observed. Low skilled temporary jobs are fashioned around meeting the job performance expectations of the employer; the worker's needs are hardly addressed, resulting in low work standards, little worker protection and poor health outcomes. The rising prevalence of non-standard employment or informal labor sector requires that policies or labor market legislation be revised to meet the needs presented by these marginalized workers.

Are immigrants in Canada over-represented in riskier jobs relative to Canadian-born labor market participants?

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.

Barriers to Return-to-Work for Linguistic Minorities in Ontario: An Analysis of Narratives from Appeal Decisions

PURPOSE

Previous research has shown that linguistic minorities have inferior workers' compensation experiences and outcomes; however little information exists on the structural barriers they face in relation to return-to-work (RTW). We sought to address this gap by describing barriers to RTW for linguistic minorities in Ontario using narratives from appeal decisions.

METHODS

We examined decisions by the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. We searched the full text of decisions rendered between October 1, 2010 and September 30, 2011 for the keyword "English". A total of 378 decisions were generated. After eliminating decisions that did not involve linguistic minorities we retained half (189) for analysis. We summarized the issues around language for each decision and identified broad themes across decisions.

RESULTS

We found that linguistic minorities' limitations with regards to communication and power left them vulnerable to abuse, incomprehension and misperception by employers, care providers and adjudicators. In addition, specific RTW policies and practices failed to properly consider or mitigate their lack of English proficiency. These interpersonal and structural barriers negatively impacted linguistic minorities' eligibility to benefits and services and the appropriateness thereof, as well as their eventual return to work.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research highlights the need to move beyond efforts to improve the linguistic competence of compensation boards to target the structural factors that impede equal access at every stage of the process.

The relationship between worker, occupational and workplace characteristics and whether an injury requires time off work: a matched case-control analysis in Ontario, Canada

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to examine individual, occupational, and workplace level factors associated with time loss following a similar injury.

METHODS

Seven thousand three hundred and forty-eight workers' compensation claims that did not require time off work were matched with up to four claims that required time off work on the event, nature, and part of body injured as well as injury year. Conditional logistic regression models examined individual, occupational, and workplace level factors that were associated with the likelihood of not requiring time off work.

RESULTS

Employees from firms with higher premium rates were more likely to report no time loss from work and workers in more physically demanding occupations were less likely to report no time loss from work. We observed no association between age or gender and the probability of a time loss claim submission.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that insurance costs are an incentive for workplaces to adopt policies and practices that minimize time loss following a work injury.

Compensation benefits in a population-based cohort of men and women on long-term disability after musculoskeletal injuries: costs, course, predictors

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to assess costs, duration and predictors of prolonged compensation benefits by gender in a population characterised by long-term compensation benefits for traumatic or non-traumatic musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs).

METHODS

This study examined 3 years of data from a register-based provincial cohort including all new allowed long-term claims (≥3 months of wage replacement benefits) related to neck/shoulder/back/trunk/upper-limb MSIs in Quebec, Canada, from 2001 to 2003 (13,073 men and 9032 women). Main outcomes were compensation duration and costs. Analyses were carried out separately for men and women to investigate gender differences. An extended Cox model with Heaviside functions of time was used to account for covariates with time-varying effects.

RESULTS

Male workers experienced a longer compensation benefit duration and higher median costs. At the end of follow-up, 3 years postinjury, 12.3% of men and 7.3% of women were still receiving compensation benefits. Effects of certain predictors (e.g., income, injury site or industry) differed markedly between men and women. Age and claim history had time-varying effects in the men's and women's models, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowing costs, duration and predictors of long-term compensation claims by gender can help employers, decision makers and rehabilitation specialists to identify at-risk workers and industries to engage them in early intervention and prevention programmes. Tailoring parts of long-term disability prevention and management efforts to men's and women's specific needs, barriers and vulnerable subgroups, could reduce time on benefits among both male and female long-term claimants.

Work-injury absence and compensation among partnered and lone mothers and fathers

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study is to examine the risk of a work-injury absence and the likelihood of receiving compensation among partnered and lone mothers and fathers.

METHODS

This study utilized data from an annual survey of Canadian residents. Logistic regression models examined the association between family status and the receipt of workers' compensation, and absences due to work-related injury or illnesses of 7 or more days.

RESULTS

Being a lone mother was significantly associated with the risk of work-injury absence. Gender differences were observed for workers' compensation: mothers were half as likely as fathers to receive workers' compensation benefits, which may be attributed to differences in work experiences between men and women.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings may help in understanding whether some parental situations are more vulnerable than others and may contribute to identifying policies that could help workers sustain employment or return to work following an injury.

Underreporting work absences for nontraumatic work-related musculoskeletal disorders to workers' compensation: results of a 2007-2008 survey of the Québec working population

OBJECTIVES

We examined underestimation of nontraumatic work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) stemming from underreporting to workers' compensation (WC).

METHODS

In data from the 2007 to 2008 Québec Survey on Working and Employment Conditions and Occupational Health and Safety we estimated, among nonmanagement salaried employees (NMSEs) (1) the prevalence of WMSDs and resulting work absence, (2) the proportion with WMSD-associated work absence who filed a WC claim, and (3) among those who did not file a claim, the proportion who received no replacement income. We modeled factors associated with not filing with multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

Eighteen percent of NMSEs reported a WMSD, among whom 22.3% were absent from work. More than 80% of those absent did not file a WC claim, and 31.4% had no replacement income. Factors associated with not filing were higher personal income, higher seniority, shorter work absence, and not being unionized.

CONCLUSIONS

The high level of WMSD underreporting highlights the limits of WC data for surveillance and prevention. Without WC benefits, injured workers may have reduced job protection and access to rehabilitation.

Comparing the risk factors associated with serious versus and less serious work-related injuries in Ontario between 1991 and 2006

BACKGROUND

The objective of this study was to examine and compare the demographic and labor market risks for more serious and less serious work-related injuries and illnesses.

METHODS

Secondary analysis of accepted workers' compensation claims in Ontario, combined with labor force estimates for the period 1991 to 2006. Serious injuries and illnesses were claims resulting in wage replacement. Less serious injuries and illnesses were claims only requiring health care. Regression models examined the relationship between demographic and labor market characteristics (age, gender, industry, job tenure, and unemployment) and claim type.

RESULTS

Relative risk estimates for serious and less serious claims were not concordant across age, gender and industry employment groups. For example, while the mining and utilities and the construction industry had an increased probability of reporting NLTCs, they had a decreased probability of reporting LTCs.

CONCLUSIONS

The risk for serious and less serious work-related injury and illness claims differ by demographic and labor market groups. The use of composite measures that combine wage-replacement and health care only claims should be considered when using compensation data for surveillance and primary prevention targeting strategies.

Delicate dances: immigrant workers' experiences of injury reporting and claim filing

INTRODUCTION

Immigrants often come to Canada for the purpose of employment and make up a large proportion of our labour force. Yet, these workers' labour market experience may not always be positive - new immigrant workers can have difficulties finding a job in their field and may end up working in 'survival jobs' that expose them to workplace hazards. Workers who are new to Canada may not be familiar with legislation designed to protect them at work or with social programs that can help after a work-related injury.

METHODS

Through a series of in-depth interviews this study examined the experiences of new immigrants after they were injured on the job.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed that many workers were in manual, 'survival jobs' and had not received job or occupational health and safety training. Many did not speak the English language well and knew little about their rights. While workers often felt trepidation about reporting their injury, most told a health care provider or employer that they were injured or in pain. This, however, rarely led to timely or appropriate claim filing. Workers were often discouraged from filing a claim, misinformed about their rights or offered 'time off work' in lieu of reporting the injury to worker's compensation. In instances where a claim was filed, communication problems were common and led to mistakes being made on forms and misunderstandings with the adjudicator and employer. Interpretation services were not always offered consistently or at the correct time.

CONCLUSION

Efforts must be made to systematically inform new immigrants of their health and safety rights, responsibilities and entitlements as they are entering the labour market. Systems must be put in place to ensure that immigrants can access the compensation system in the event of a work-related injury and that employers and healthcare providers fulfil their reporting responsibilities.

Trends in the health care use and expenditures associated with no-lost-time claims in Ontario: 1991 to 2006

OBJECTIVE

To examine trends in health care usage and expenditures associated with no-lost-time claims in Ontario over a 15-year period.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of administrative workers' compensation claims occurring between 1991 and 2006 (N = 2,290,101). We used regression analysis to model health care expenditures using a zero-inflated linear model, adjusting for age, gender, industry group and size of payroll.

RESULTS

The probability of using health care increased over the time period. Health care expenditures per claim declined between 1991 and 1997, but then increased between 1998 and 2006, coinciding with the introduction of occupational health and safety legislation promoting early return to work in Ontario.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide support to the hypothesis that the increasing use of workplace accommodation since 1998 is a driver of the relatively stable rate of no-lost-time claims in Ontario.

Are immigrants, ethnic and linguistic minorities over-represented in jobs with a high level of compensated risk? Results from a Montréal, Canada study using census and workers' compensation data

OBJECTIVES

Few Canadian data sources allow the examination of disparities by ethnicity, language, or immigrant status in occupational exposures or health outcomes. However, it is possible to document the mechanisms that can create disparities, such as the over-representation of population groups in high-risk jobs. We evaluated, in the Montréal context, the relationship between the social composition of jobs and their associated risk level.

METHODS

We used data from the 2001 Statistics Canada census and from Québec's workers' compensation board for 2000-2002 to characterize job categories defined as major industrial groups crossed with three professional categories (manual, mixed, non-manual). Immigrant, visible, and linguistic minority status variables were used to describe job composition. The frequency rate of compensated health problems and the average duration of compensation determined job risk level. The relationship between the social composition and risk level of jobs was evaluated with Kendall correlations.

RESULTS

The proportion of immigrants and minorities was positively and significantly linked to the risk level across job categories. Many relationships were significant for women only. In analyses done within manual jobs, relationships with the frequency rate reversed and were significant, except for the relationship with the proportion of individuals with knowledge of French only, which remained positive.

CONCLUSIONS

Immigrants, visible, and linguistic minorities in Montréal are more likely to work where there is an increased level of compensated risk. Reversed relationships within manual jobs may be explained by under-reporting and under-compensation in vulnerable populations compared to those with knowledge of the province's majority language.

Research opportunities using administrative databases and existing surveys for new knowledge in occupational health and safety in Canada, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia

In Canada, many datasets are initially collected for purposes other than occupational health and safety (OHS) research. These include administrative health care billing records, pharmaceutical records, vital statistics, provincial cancer registries and workers' compensation claims data. In addition, many national and provincial health surveys, while not focused specifically on occupational health and safety, collect data on the health status and health determinants of populations, and such data can be used for investigating OHS issues among Canadian workers. This paper provides examples of the use of administrative and survey data for OHS research projects from the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia to illustrate the potential of such data. These three provinces have a long history of using administrative and survey data for OHS research and have developed capacity in this regard for improving access to data, for linkage of records across databases and for developing methods to answer OHS questions. As research using these data sources expands, a consistent understanding within the work and health research community must be forged concerning the strengths and limitations of these data resources and their comparability.