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Program

The conference program will include approximately 15 invited presentations, delivered to conference plenary sessions, and 180 submitted presentations, organized by theme and running concurrently.

All presentations will be in English.
Plenary Sessions will be simultaneously translated into French and Spanish

The program is structured around three themes:
Theme 1 - the prevention of work-related injuries and illness
Theme 2 - the rehabilitation and management of work disability
Theme 3 - the performance of disability compensation schemes and systems

The conference will address today’s most pressing issues in workplace health and safety.  Below is a sampling of presentation subjects, organized by theme and emphasis topic.

Theme 1: Prevention of Work-Related Injuries and Illness

1.A    Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders

• Innovative interventions and programs for the prevention of non-traumatic and traumatic musculoskeletal disorders

1.B   Occupational Disease

• Innovative approaches to the monitoring and surveillance of occupational disease
• Recognition of new and emerging risks
• Case studies of effective programs in occupational disease prevention

1.C   The Changing Face of Workers

• Protecting vulnerable workers: case studies based on programs designed to address the needs of older workers, migrant and immigrant workers, and young workers

1.D   Prevention in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

• Case studies drawn from effective programs to improve occupational health and safety in small and medium-sized enterprises

1.E   New and Emerging Risks

• Anticipating the influence of climate change on the health of workers
• Recognition and control of hazards arising from nanomaterials in the workplace

1.F   Innovation in Prevention Policy, Programs and Services

• New and emerging models for policy consultation with worker and employer representatives
• Workplace occupational health promotion
• The influence of economic incentives in occupational health and safety
• Social marketing in occupational health and safety
• Effective processes for transferring research evidence to workplace practice

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Theme 2: Rehabilitation and Management of Work Disability

2.A   Long-Term Disability Episodes

• Explanations for the rising numbers of long-term disability episodes
• Innovative programs for supporting a return to work among the long-term disabled

2.B   Improving Quality and Disciplining costs in Health Care Services

• Trends in medical care and rehabilitation services for serious workplace injuries
• Evidence for the benefits of specialized occupational medicine services

2.C   Innovative Insurer Strategies for Supporting Optimal Return-to-Work

• Case studies of effective case-management services
• Use of information technology in case-management services
• Building skills and ensuring competency in case-management staff

2.D   Innovative Programs for Improving Workplace Competence in Disability Management

• Case studies on the effectiveness of regulatory standards, voluntary standards or economic incentives in supporting the adoption of optimal return-to-work practices in workplaces

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Theme 3: The Performance of Work Disability Compensation Systems

3.A   Strengthening Work Disability Insurance in the Developing Economies

• Approaches for integrating workers in the informal economy
• Successful models for establishing work disability insurance institutions in the developing economies

3.B   Mechanisms and Procedures for Ensuring Fairness

• Appeal/Tribunal/Advocate/Ombudsman models
• Evolving trends in the definition of work-related disorders
• Evolving trends in the definition of the employment relationship
• Maintaining employer participation in workers’ compensation

3.C   Reform in Workers’ Compensation Systems

• Lessons from the consolidation of work disability funds in Germany
• Establishing workers’ compensation systems in China
• Debating a national workers’ compensation system in Australia
• Highlights from the 2008 review of the New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation

3.D   Attributes of the Most Effective Work Disability Insurance Systems

• Effective policies for maintaining coverage of the active workforce
• Comparison of the generosity, duration and timeliness of benefits to disabled workers across different workers’ compensation schemes
• Comparison of the cost to employers across different workers’ compensation schemes
• Investment in OHS prevention services
• Scheme financial sustainability

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