The Lens
June 2021
Events, Updates, and Resources
Occ-COVID Series continues this Friday, June 18: 1-3 PM EDT
Learning from our Peers: COVID-19 Prevention Approaches and Protections for Essential Workers across the Country and around the World 

Moderator: Dr. Kevin Hedges CIH, COH
Speakers include Occupational Hygienists and related professionals from coast-to-coast, the US and Australia, sharing solutions that can benefit us all during gradual re-opening, to fend off a 4th wave, and especially towards airborne precaution standards in the future.
 
  1. Recognizing the Occupational health role in Prevention and ideas for a Canadian national standard on airborne precautions. Marc-Andre Lavoie ROH (Former President, CRBOH).
  2. US OSHA update plus Building programs to protect workers, Jonathan Rosen, MS. CIH, National Clearinghouse for Worker Safety and Health Training.
  3. Lessons from Australia. Kate Cole (President elect of AIOH), Kevin Hedges, OHCOW.
  4. Zero COVID-19 Workplace Infections: The Necessary, Noble, and Achievable Goal. Laurence Svirchev. CIH, AIHA International Affairs Committee, Ambassador to China. British Columbia.
Migrant Farm Worker Program News
OHCOW’s Migrant Farm Worker Program has been busy working with partners from the Kairos Worker Empowerment Project and Ontario agricultural community stakeholders, updating and translating resources as well as organizing and delivering several webinars which are now available as videos:
  1. Rights and responsibilities of workers and employers in the context of COVID-19 (June 1, 2021) Check Kairos YouTube, video coming soon.
  2. Here to Help: An Introduction to WSIB, Foreign Agricultural Workers and COVID-19 (May 26, 2021)
  3. Vaccines & Migrant Workers: Accessibility, Concerns, Myths & Facts (May 4, 2021)
  4. International Agricultural Worker Health and Safety - Day of Mourning (April 28, 2021)
The latter includes an analysis of the Ontario Deputy Chief Coroner’s Review to which OHCOW staff contributed.
Heat Response Resources
During high heat days, the Ministry of Labour expects affected workplaces to have a hot weather plan. OHCOW has developed several tools to make it easier for workplaces to know how to respond to hot weather conditions. The Humidex-based Heat Response Plan not only provides a 5 step process to recognize, assess and control heat exposures but also a description of heat-related health effects and response recommendations. OHCOW provides this and several other tools, including a webinar and Humidex Calculator to help workplaces respond to hot weather conditions.
Recent Videos
Ventilation in Education
OHCOW Occupational Hygienist, John Oudyk presents “Ventilation within the Spectrum of COVID-19 Prevention Activities to Ministry of Education Provincial Working Group on Health and Safety” based on his June 2nd discussion with the group, reflecting 18 months experience reviewing research, community and workplace SARS CoV-2 transmission and control.

This presentation emphasizes how to prevent aerosol transmission by simple ways of measuring the air changes per hour.
Mayday, Mayday 2021 Workplace Mental Health Webinar series
Videos and slide presentations now available from all 5 sessions:
  • Pandemic Experience a year later
  • COPSOQ Network on WMH Regulatory frameworks around the World
  • Participatory Solutions for Workplace Mental Health and Violence Prevention
  • COPSOQ Network International Intervention stories
  • OHCOW and partner new WMH Tools + Resources

See our website for slides and videos by session or watch the entire playlist below.
Recent Publications
OHCOW Pandemic Research published in prestigious journal, Annals of Epidemiology
Co-authors include OHCOW’s John Oudyk and IWH’s Peter Smith. This paper examines the impact of COVID-19 on nurses’ mental health.
OHCOW Ergonomist's paper on concussions published in FQS
OHCOW Ergonomist Daryl Stephenson's (BHK, MHK, PhD), paper "Canadian Football League Players' Reporting of Concussion Symptoms" is being published in the qualitative research journal, FQS (Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research) and examines key factors that impact self-reporting for this important workplace health risk.
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