Dr. Ellen MacEachen is an occupational health social scientist specializing in qualitative methodology. She is a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. She holds appointments as an assistant professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, a mentor with the CIHR Work Disability Training Program, and a fellow with the Centre for Critical Qualitative Health Research. In addition, she is associate editor with the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation and president of the Canadian Association for Research on Work and Health.

MacEachen's research focuses on the organisation of occupational health systems and how services are implemented. Her research has focused on how occupational health is understood and managed in non-traditional and growing sectors, such as temporary work agencies and the software sector. She has also examined how workers? compensation services are organised and delivered, including vocational retraining and the management of complex work injury claims. Her research has resulted in a popular knowledge transfer document that provides advice to decision-makers about how to consider return to work problems, called "Red Flags/Green Lights: A Guide to Identifying and Solving Return-to-Work problems".

Related Research

MacEachen, E., Kosny, A., Ferrier, S., Chambers, L. (2010). The 'toxic dose' of system problems: why some injured workers don't return to work as expected, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 20(3), 349-366.

MacEachen, E., Kosny, A., Scott-Dixon, K., Facey, M., Chambers, L., Breslin, C., Kyle, N. , Irvin, E., Mahood, Q. and the Small Business Systematic Review Team (2010). Workplace health understandings and processes in small businesses: A systematic review of the qualitative literature. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 20(2):180-98.

Tjulin, A., MacEachen, E., Ekberg, K. (2010). Exploring workplace actor's experiences of return to work. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 20(3), 311-321.

Bernhard, D., MacEachen, E., Lippel, K. Disability management experts and the impact on practice of jurisdiction. International Journal of Social Security and Workers Compensation (in press)

Tjulin, A., MacEachen, E., Ekberg, K. Exploring the meaning of early contact in return-to-work from the workplace actor's view. Disability and Rehabilitation. DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2010.489630

MacEachen, E., Polzer, J., Clarke, J. (2008). "You are free to set your own hours": Governing worker productivity and health through flexibility and resilience. Social Science & Medicine, 66(5), 1019-1033

MacEachen, E., Ferrier, S., Kosny, A., and Chambers, L. (2007). A deliberation on 'hurt versus harm' logic in early-return-to-work policy. Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, 5(2), 41-62.

MacEachen, E., Kosny, A., Ferrier, S. (2007) Unexpected barriers in return to work: lessons learned from Ontario injured worker peer support groups. Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation, 29(2), 155-164.

Breslin, C., Polzer, J., MacEachen, E., Morrongiello, B., Shannon, H. (2007). Workplace Injury or "Part of the Job?": Towards a Gendered Understanding of Injuries & Complaints among Young Workers. Social Science and Medicine, 64(4), 782-93.

MacEachen, E., Clarke, J., Franche, R.-L., Irvin, E. (2006). The process of return to work after injury: findings of a systematic review of qualitative studies. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 32(4), 257-269.

MacEachen, E. (2005) The demise of repetitive strain injury in sceptical governing rationalities of workplace managers. Sociology of Health and Illness, 27(4), 490-514.

Eakin, J., MacEachen, E., Clarke, J. (2003) 'Playing it Smart' with return-to-work: Small workplace experience under Ontario's system of self reliance and early return. Journal of Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, 1(2), 19-42.

MacEachen, E. (2000) The mundane administration of worker bodies: from welfarism to neoliberalism. Health, Risk and Society, 2(3), 315-327.

Related Grants

MacEachen, E., Tompa, E., Endicott, M. (Co-P.I.s) A critical review of literature on experience-rating in workers' compensation systems. Community-University Research Alliance Grant, Social Science and Humanities Research Council. 2010-11.

Facey, M. (P.I.), MacEachen, E., Verma, A. Understanding the impact of the declining role of labour unions on workplace health. Workplace Safety & Insurance Board Research Advisory Council (WSIB RAC). 2011-2012.

MacEachen, E.(P.I.), Kosny, A., Mansfield, L., Keown, L. "Red Flags/Green Lights: A Guide to Identifying and Managing RTW Problems": How is it Useful to Different Stakeholders? Workplace Safety & Insurance Board Research Advisory Council (WSIB RAC). 2010-11.

MacEachen, E. (P.I.), Kosny, A., Lippel, K., Saunders, R. Understanding the management of prevention and return to work in temporary work agencies. Workplace Safety & Insurance Board Research Advisory Council (WSIB RAC). 2009-12.

Loisel, P. (P.I.) and (in alphabetical order) Anema, J.R.; Baril, R.; Breslin, C.; Bultmann, U.; Cassidy, J.D.; Cooper, J.E.; Corbiere, M.; Cote, P.; Coutu, M.F.; Dewa, C.; Dionne, C.; Durand, M.J.; Feuerstein, M.; Franche, R.L.; Gagnon, D.; Guzman, J.; Hogg-Johnson, S.; Koehoorn, M.; Krause, N.; Lambert, C.; Lippel, K.; MacEachen, E.; Mairiaux, P.; Pransky, G.; Ranville, P.; Shaw, W.; Tompa, E.; Vezina, N.; Scardamalia, M. CIHR Strategic Training Program in Work Disability Prevention. Canadian Institutes for Health Research. 2009-15.

Kosny, A. (P.I.), MacEachen, E., Smith, P., Shields, J. Knowledge Exchange Forum on Immigration, Work and Health in British Columbia. Canadian Institutes for Health Research. 2009.

Kosny, A. (P.I.), MacEachen, E., Smith, P., Shields, J. Immigrant workers' experiences after work-related injury in British Columbia: identifying key questions and building research capacity. WorksafeBC, British Columbia. 2008-9.

MacEachen, E. (P.I.). & Kosny, A. Development of a Green Light and Red Flag Toolkit for Persistent Claims. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario RAC. 2007-08.

MacEachen, E. (P.I.). & Franche, R. Groundwork for an Injured Worker and Mental Health Intervention Study. Centre of Research Expertise in Improved Disability Outcomes Pilot Project Grant. 2007-08.

MacEachen, E. (P.I.)., Kosny, A., Lippel, K., Franche, R.L. An ethnographic study of process and experience with Labour Market Re-Entry. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario RAC. 2007-09.

Kosny, A., MacEachen, E., Smith, P., Shields, J. Immigrant workers' experiences after work-related injury and illness. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario RAC. 2007-09.

MacEachen, E. (P.I.). & Chambers, L. An Ethnographic Study of Injured Workers' Claims Experiences: A Focus on Mental Health and Substance Use Issues, from Tompa et al. 2006-2011 Community-University Research Alliance Grant, Social Science and Humanities Research Council. 2006-2008.

MacEachen, E., (P.I.). Ferrier, S., Cole, D. An ethnographic study of injured workers' complex claims experiences. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario RAC. 2005-07.

Eakin, J.M., MacEachen, E., Clarke, J. The logic of practice: An ethnographic study of front-line service work with small businesses in Ontario's workplace health insurance agency. Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario RAC. 2004-06.

Breslin, C.F., MacEachen, E., Morrongiello, B., Shannon, H. Work injuries among adolescents: toward a gendered conceptual framework. Canadian Institutes of Health Research. 2005-06.