National Injury Data and Evidence-Informed Prevention: An Interview with Janet MacEachern

Introduction: This podcast is brought to you by the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.

CCOHS is situated upon the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas. This land is covered by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabek to share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. We further acknowledge that this land is covered by the Between the Lakes Purchase, 1792, between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

Ashley: Hello and welcome to Safe and Sound with CCOHS. We're here today with Janet MacEachern, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada. Janet leads national efforts to advance excellence in workers' compensation through collaboration, data stewardship, and knowledge exchange among Canada's provincial and territorial boards and commissions. She joins us to discuss national injury trends and how workplaces can use that data to support prevention on a local level. Janet, thanks so much for being here.

Janet: Thank you very much, Ashley. I feel very fortunate to be asked to do this podcast today, and any efforts to collaborate with CCOHS, we're always happy to do so.

Ashley: We love to hear it. Your organization plays a key role in collecting and sharing data across jurisdictions. Can you walk us through what that data includes?

Janet: Absolutely. At the Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada – we call it AWCBC – we bring together data from the twelve provincial and territorial workers' compensation boards across Canada to create a truly national picture. This includes, for the most part, claim-related measures such as injury frequency, accepted lost-time claims, accepted workplace fatalities, return-to-work outcomes, and claim duration. We also look at other measures, including more financial ones like benefit payments, administration costs, and overall system funding. Through our National Work Injury Statistics Program, or WISP, we also capture more detailed, nuanced information on work-related injuries and diseases across industries and occupations, broken down by factors such as age, gender, type of injury, and even the part of the body affected. Our role at AWCBC is to collect, standardize, and share that information so it can be compared across jurisdictions. That consistency allows employers, policymakers, and health and safety professionals to identify trends, better understand risks, and support evidence-informed prevention efforts in their own context. We don't develop prevention policies ourselves, but we provide the crucial foundation that helps others turn that data into action.

Ashley: Right – incredibly important information to be collecting and sharing. Tell us a little more about evidence-informed prevention. What does that mean in practice?

Janet: Absolutely. In practice, evidence-informed prevention is really about using reliable information to guide decisions rather than relying on assumptions. For example, when employers or policymakers identify higher injury rates in a specific industry, or patterns and types of injuries, they can focus their efforts where they'll have the greatest impact. It's about using those insights to better understand risks and take targeted action – whether that's adapting training, improving workplace practices, or strengthening return-to-work approaches. Ultimately, it helps ensure prevention strategies are grounded in real-world evidence, which makes them more effective.

Ashley: What are some ways employers and health and safety representatives can use data more effectively?

Janet: Good question. There are a few practical ways they can elevate their approach. First, benchmarking – using national and jurisdictional data to understand how their organization compares in terms of injury rates or claim durations, which helps identify gaps. Second is trend analysis: looking internally at their own data over time to spot recurring issues or emerging risks, so you can catch problems before they turn into increased injuries. Third is targeted action – using insights like injury type, cause, and affected body part to tailor safety programs and training. The key is to move from simply collecting data to actively using it to make decisions, whether that's improving return-to-work programs or focusing on high-risk roles.

Ashley: That makes sense. How can workers' compensation boards, employers, and other partners across the country work together to improve outcomes?

Janet: This is really crucial, and collaboration is where it comes into play. Workers' compensation boards provide the data and system-level insights, employers and health and safety professionals bring the frontline experience, and researchers, policymakers and academics help translate those findings into action. By sharing data across jurisdictions – while recognizing differences in legislation or industry mix – we can identify national trends and learn from each other's successes. That kind of collaboration enables more consistent approaches, better prevention strategies, and ultimately improves outcomes for workers across the country.

Ashley: That's what it's all about, really.

Janet: Yeah, exactly.

Ashley: If there's one thing you'd like our listeners to take away from today, what would that be?

Janet: This is a topic we could talk about for an hour or more, but I think one takeaway would be that having access to reliable, comparable information is essential to improving workplace health and safety. When information is standardized and shared across jurisdictions, it gives employers, policymakers, and health and safety professionals the insights they need to make informed decisions and take meaningful action that leads to positive outcomes. At AWCBC, our role is to provide that national picture, helping others understand what's happening and where efforts can make the greatest impact. Ultimately, it comes down to how we support safer, healthier workplaces across this country. And one last thing – for those interested in learning more about what we can offer, I encourage them to visit our website at awcbc.org. We have a fabulous amount of data there, including a Year at a Glance feature to understand what's happening currently across the jurisdictions and at the national level, along with plenty of publicly available resources. And please reach out to our staff – we're able to help with nuanced data requests to support prevention and health and safety programs. We're here to help, and it's all free.

Ashley: Absolutely, be sure to take advantage of those fantastic resources. Janet, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your expertise today.

Janet: Thank you, Ashley. I really appreciate this opportunity.

Ashley: For more information on incident prevention and all things workplace health and safety, visit our website, ccohs.ca. Thanks for listening and stay safe out there.