OHSAH has recently produced a new series of fact sheets, entitled, "Research Update". These one-page summaries provide our stakeholders and website visitors with facts and information about recent healthcare studies currently awaiting publication.

Current titles include:
- Potential Blood And Body Fluid (BBF) Exposure Among Healthcare Workers

- Choosing Where To Work: Work-Related Injury Among Direct Care Occupations

- Staffing Level And Staff Mix Effect On
Injury Rates

OHSAH's guide, It doesn't have to hurt!: A guide for implementing musculoskeletal injury prevention (MSIP) programs in healthcare is intended to assist in the design and implementation of a proactive, participatory MSIP program that will meet current legislated requirements to control the risk of work-related MSI, as well as contribute to the overall health and well being of healthcare workers.
View a sample here, or order a copy online.

WorkSafeBC produces a mini-CD containing the latest updates to the Regulation, WCB standards, related policies and guidelines, and PDF versions of key health and safety publications such as How to Implement a Formal Occupational Health and Safety Program, Safe Work Practices for House Construction, Safe Practices for Handling Asbestos, Back Talk, and WHMIS at Work.
The CD also contains excerpts and summaries
of the Workers Compensation Act.

Get your searchable copy today at WorksafeBC.

The National Nutrition Month® Campaign 2007 will focus on the theme of discovering the pleasures and benefits of cooking. With our fast paced way of life, families have less time to get together for eating a meal or leisure activities. There is also less time for preparing meals that support healthy eating, which has an impact on the health of Canadians.

Check out Canada's Food Guide here.

BC Mental Health & Addiction Services (BCMHAS), and the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), are presenting a two-day conference on mental health and addiction in the workplace. The conference will be held May 17 - 18, 2007, at the Marriott Pinnacle in Vancouver, BC, and will feature keynote speaker Dr. Julian Barling, PhD. For more information, or to register for the conference, visit the website.

PEARS Annual Meeting & Inside PEARS Newsletter

The 3rd Annual PEARS provincial meeting was held on January 31 and February 1, 2007 at the Hospital Employees' Union (HEU) conference hall in Burnaby, BC.

Day One focused on bringing together a large group of PEARS stakeholders to build upon program relationships and to share PEARS successes and initiatives. On Day Two a province-wide bipartite working group discussed the strategic direction of PEARS for the next five years, specifically focusing on future expansion, evaluation and continuous improvement of PEARS and PEARS-related initiatives.

Check out the Inside PEARS newsletter for more details.

Home & Community Care Conference

OHSAH hosted a successful Home and Community Care Conference on February 26th, 2007, which was attended by approximately 150 participants. The objectives of the conference were to share the results of recent occupational health and safety (OHS) initiatives in Home and Community Care and seek stakeholder input to determine priority issues for OHSAH to focus on in the future. To view the agenda, click here. The majority of participants indicated the conference was a valuable experience and were pleased to attend an OHS conference specifically focused on Home and Community Care (HCC).

In addition to hearing presentations in the morning, conference delegates participated in afternoon break-out sessions to provide suggestions for potential future OHSAH initiatives valuable to the HCC sector. The themes which emerged from the break-out sessions included: a study on violence prevention in HCC; new technologies to reduce risk of injury to community health workers (CHWs) and best practice approaches to implementing existing technologies; a public awareness campaign to positively raise the profile of HCC and highlight the importance of the work done in this sector of healthcare; health and safety education and training for CHWs, their employers and their clients; universal and effective communication systems/strategies for emergency response to violent incidents and for working alone; and practical tools, resources and best practice models for health and safety risks in HCC.

OHSAH's Home and Community Care Steering Committee will review these suggestions and make recommendations on future initiatives to OHSAH's Board of Directors. The comprehensive conference report, as well as future updates, will be posted on OHSAH's website.

OHSAH would like to sincerely express our gratitude to presenters, participants, and those who helped organize our first Home and Community Care conference. It was a collective success!

Upcoming Conferences & Abstract Submissions

British Columbia Healthcare Workplace Health,
Safety & Wellness Conference
Theme: "Beyond Compliance to Competitive Necessity"
September 17 - 18, 2007
Grand Okanagan Hotel and Conference Centre
Kelowna, BC

In September, 2007, the BC healthcare partner associations are hosting a bi-annual Workplace Health, Safety and Wellness Conference. This conference will showcase many of the initiatives underway that support an integrated approach through research, innovative solutions and leading practices in health, safety and wellness for the healthcare environment. It will also provide delegates with a heightened awareness of the issues and solutions as well as networking opportunities.

Healthcare providers, researchers, workplace health, safety and wellness practitioners, employers and unions are invited to submit abstracts for oral or poster presentations, as well as interactive workshops. Abstract submission is encouraged particularly from those involved in collaborative workplace research.
Abstract Deadline: April 23


International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH)
Conference on Health Care Worker Health
Theme: "Protecting the Health of Health Care Workers - A Global Perspective"
October 26 - 28, 2007
Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel
Vancouver, BC

The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) Conference on Health Care Worker Health will be held concurrently with the 2007 State of the Art Conference of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). This conference will bring together key international experts in the United States, Canada, England, other European nations, and many developing countries to present emerging scientific information in occupational health. The meeting will offer a global perspective on the recognition and management of healthcare worker occupational diseases and injuries, as well as strategies for protecting healthcare workers from such conditions.

The ICOH Health Care Worker Health Organizing and Scientific Program Committees invite experienced presenters to submit abstracts for educational activities at the upcoming ICOH Conference on Health Care Worker Health, October 26-28, 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Abstract Deadline: April 20