I have Masters degrees in History and Health Services Planning and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology. My approach to research and policy is highly inter-disciplinary. I have a long-standing research interest in the workplace determinants of health and have conducted research on this topic in various workforces in Canada and internationally. In relation to this work, I was director of research at the Occupational Health and Safety Agency for Healthcare for several years and consulted with the Royal Commission on the Workers’ Compensation Board in BC advising them on issues of stress and health.  I also conduct research on community health. I was a national board member on the “Coasts Under Stress” project funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and I currently direct a Canadian Institutes for Health Research project on rural and northern health in BC (NETHRN-BC). Finally, I have recently developed a program of research on public health nutrition and food security. Last, but not least, I continue to conduct research and write on the history of public health and healthcare policy in Canada. 

I’m currently actively conducting research on the following five main areas outlined as follows.

A. Establishing a New Emerging Team for Health in Rural and Northern British Columbia (NETHRN-BC).

This is a five year ($1.5 million) project running through to 2011 funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. The purpose of this program is to develop research capacity in the social determinants of rural and northern health in BC. The program is based at four BC universities. This is a training program and is constructed around several linked research projects based mainly in Victoria, Kamloops, and Prince George. NETHRN-BC brings together leaders in the field of rural health research with leaders in the investigation of the social determinants of health. This collaboration involves national and international partners and is inter-disciplinary involving academics from geography, sociology, epidemiology, statistics, and psychology. We currently have many opportunities available for student trainees, post-doctoral fellows, and visiting scholars. Visit our website at http://nethrnbc.uvic.ca.

Research on health in rural and northern communities is particularly important now because, in general, the health status of people living in rural regions in most developed nations is worse (and in some cases much worse) than for urban dwellers. As well, the social fabric of many BC communities has sustained major adverse impacts from industry re-structuring (as well as from re-organizations and change in welfare and health delivery systems). As the rapidly emerging eco-economic crisis caused by the pine beetle infestation in BC’s interior forests unfolds many rural and northern communities will face further challenges. This project will, by measuring changes in community social fabric and health status of residents over the next several years, help policy makers develop community-based initiatives to mitigate the adverse effects of these changes.

B. Advancing Research on Nutrition Policy and Food Security.

Concerns about the links between diet/nutrition and health have waxed and waned over the past five decades. Recently, however, nutritional health issues (ranging from issues of food safety; bird flu, “mad cow” disease; obesity; food insecurity) have engaged the public and policy makers’ attention. However, little foundational work has been conducted in Canada on the development of nutrition policy and food security.

I presently conduct a program of research broadly on food security. I am working with regional health authorities and the Ministry’s of Education and Health and with several students on issues of community food security. I have just published a book on the historical evolution of nutrition policy in Canada which contributes to understanding changes in food security and nutrition policies. I am also just completing a book describing the changing social determinants of breast feeding among Canadian women in relation to the evolution of national policies promoting breastfeeding.  I also advise BC’s Regional Health Authorities on ways to work with communities to evaluate food security projects in relation to their potential impact on health. As well, in a joint project with the Ministries of Education and Health, I recently surveyed all BC school districts and schools to assess the extent of food sales and nutrition policies development.

I have been active in obtaining grants to investigate the determinants of the Canadian diet as well as investigating the quality of nutritional information available on inter-net sites most used by Canadians. Finally, I supervise graduate students working on international nutrition policy and food security projects and I’m actively engaged in academic collaborations with leading food security researchers in the UK. I recently organized a panel on food security and globalization (July 2006) in Durban and I have just initiatied comparative food security and nutrition policy investigations with researchers in Australia.

C.  Research on the Canadian and BC’s Healthcare System

I have recently published a book on the evolution of the Canadian Health Care System. This book integrates the medical and public health historical with current policy literature in order to show how the system evolved from the late 19^th century to the present. This work builds on my long-standing interest in the history of public health in this country.

I’m also  working with a Community University Research Alliance on the impact of restructuring on the healthcare system in British Columbia. This work is based on collaborations with academics mainly at UNBC, Simon Fraser University, and UBC and with various community groups and unions. I have worked with this CURA for the past three years. The work has focused on developing a clear understanding of how the regionalization and re-organization of BC’s healthcare system, since the mid-1990s, has impacted the formal and informal home care and home support systems.

Finally, I’m involved with several historians in research and writing projects on the history of healthcare and health policy in Canada.

D. Developing an Integrated Understanding of the Impacts of Industrial Re-structuring and Technological Changes in the Labour Force in Relation to Health.

I study the relationship between stress among workers and various health outcomes using large administrative databases as well as survey methods. The outcomes investigated have included mental health as well as physical health outcomes such as coronary heart disease. Some of this work has been conducted with two cohorts; one a cohort of sawmill workers in BC and the other a cohort of their children. These cohorts have been linked to the BC Linked Health Database. The research has allowed for longitudinal investigations into the links between working conditions and an unusually large range of objectively determined health outcomes. Using various surveys I also conducted research on the working conditions facing nurses in hospitals, care workers in long –term care facilities, and home care workers in BC as well as in Australia. Finally, I have several projects funded by the Workers’ Compensation  Board investigating the working conditions of a workers in the construction industry and in the school system.           

E. Methods Development in the Measurement of Stress in the Workplace.

I am  currently engaged with a group of researchers in several countries to further develop the models for measuring stress in the workplace. This is an area of particular research significance given that stress-linked mental health issues are emerging in the early 21^st century as the major workplace health issue with enormous economic consequences. One of the keys to moving research in this field forward is to develop better ways of measuring stress. This work has been conducted by testing different models of workplace stress, comparing objective with subjective stress measures, and more broadly, by also determining the relationships between changing labour force conditions (particularly the rise of precarious and contingent employment) in workforces across different sectors (healthcare and industrial) and in different nations (Canada and Australia) and over a range of health outcomes.

Books

1. Ostry, A. Change and Continuity in the Canadian Health Care System. Ottawa: Canadian Healthcare Association, 2006.
2. Ostry, A. Nutrition Policy in Canada, 1870-1939. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. 2006.
3. R. Wollard, A. Ostry (eds.) Fatal Consumption: Rethinking Sustainable Development. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2000.

Book Chapters

1. Mustard C, Lavis J, Ostry A. Work and Health: New Evidence and Enhanced Understandings. In Healthier Societies: From Analysis to Action.  Editors (Jody Heymann, Clyde Hertzman, Morris L. Barer, Robert G. Evans) Oxford: Oxford University Press,  2005.
2. Ostry  A. Early Developments in Nutrition Policy in Canada: Impacts on Mothers and Children. In Children’s Health: International and Historical Perspectives. C. Warsh (ed).  Wilfred Laurier Press, 2005.
3. Yassi A, Ostry  A, Spiegel J. Injury Prevention and Return to Work: Breaking Down the Two Solitudes (Chapter 4). In New Views on Preventing Work-related Disability T. Sullivan and J. Frank (editors), Taylor & Francis Books Ltd. 2002.

Peer Reviewed Journals

1. Louie A, Ostry A, Shoveller J, Quinlan M, Radi S, Best A, La Montagne A. Psychosocial and other Working Conditions in Relation to Precarious Employment in a Representative Sample of Working Australians. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology In press.
2. Ostry A,  Maggi S, Tansey J, Dunn J, Hershler R, Chen L, Hertzman C.  The Impact of Physical and Psychosocial Work Conditions on Suicide Among Sawmill Workers. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health In press.
3. Alamgir H, Koehoorn M, Ostry A, Tompa E, Demers P. Accuracy of Injury Coding in a Canadian Worker’s Compensation System. Journal of Occupational Health and Safety In press.
4. Alamgir H, Koehoorn M, Ostry A, Tompa E, Demers P. Epidemiology of Work-Related Injuries Requiring Hospitalization among Sawmill Workers in British Columbia, 1989-1998" European Journal of Epidemiology In press.
5. Ostry A, Young M, Hughes M. The Quality of Nutritional Information Available on Popular Websites: A Content Analysis. Health Education Research. In press.
6. Friesen M, Davies H, Ostry A, Teschke K, Demers P. Comparison Of Expert And Measurement-Based Exposure Assessment Of Historical Noise Levels For A Sawmill Cohort. Scandanavian Journal of Work, Enivornment, and Health. In press.
7. Rideout K, Martin C, Levy-Milne R, Ostry A. Food Sales and Nutrition Policies in British Columbia Schools. Canadian Journal of Public Health Accepted and will be published in Summer 2007 98 (5): Pages not yet assigned.
8. Rideout K , Riches G, Ostry A, McRae R, Buckingham D. Bringing Home the Right to Food in Canada: Challenges and Possibilities for Achieving Food Security Public Health Nutrition 2007 Available on line at http://www.journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?iid=717516.
9. Almagir H, Koehoorn M, Tompa E, Ostry A, Demers P. The Hospital Costs of Treating Work-related Sawmill Injuries in British Columbia.  Injury; Feb 13^th, 2007 (Epub- ahead of print)
10. Schulte P, Wagner G, Ostry A, Blanciforti LA, Cutlip R, Krajnak K, Luster M, Munson A, O’Callaghan J,  Parks C, Simeonova P, Wagner G, Miller D. Work, Obesity, and Occupational Safety and Health. American Journal of Public Health 2007 97: 428-436.
11. Ostry A, Maggi S, Tansey J, Dunn J, Hershler R, Chen L, Hertzman C.  The Impact of Physical and Psychosocial Work Conditions on Mental Health Outcomes Among Sawmill Workers. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health Special Issue on the Relationship between Work and Mental Illness 2006; 25 (2/Fall):59-70.
12. Ostry A. Nutrition Policy and Food Security to the Second World War in Canada. In, What are We Eating? Qu'est-ce qu'on mange? Towards a Canadian Food Policy. Association for Canadian Studies Winter ;2006.
13. Rideout K, Ostry A. A Conceptual Model for Developing Food Security Indicators for use by Regional Health Authorities. Canadian Journal of Public Health. 2006 97(3):233-236.
14. Ostry A, Tansey J, Maggi S,  Dunn J, Hershler R, Chen L, Louie A, Hertzman C.  The Impact of Father’s Physical and Psychosocial Work Experience on Attempted and Completed Suicide among their  Children. Bio-Medical Central Public Health, 6:77, March 27^th, 2006. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/6/77.
15. Ostry A, Radia S, Louie A, La Montagna A. Psychosocial Work Conditions and Body Mass Index Among Australian Workers. Bio-Medical Central Public Health, 6:53, March 2^nd, 2006. http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/6/53/abstract
16. Nathoo, T, Holmes C, Ostry A. An Analysis of the Development of Canadian Food Fortification Policies: the Case of Vitamin B. Health Promotion International, 2005;20(4):375-382.
17. Spiegel J, Ostry A, Labonte R, Schrecker T.  Understanding Globalization as  Determinant of Health Determinants: A Critical Perspective. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health (Special edition on Globalization and Healthcare Workers), 2004;10(4):360-367.
18. Ostry A, Spiegel J. Labour Markets and Employment Insecurity: Impacts of Globalization on the Healthcare Workforce. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health (Special edition on Globalization and Healthcare Workers), 2004;10(4):368-37.
19. Ostry A, Hershler R, Chen L, Hertzman C. A Longitudinal Study Comparing The Effort-Reward Imbalance and Demand Control Models Using Objective Measures of Physician Utilization. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2004;32:1-8.
20. Ostry A, Yassi A, Ratner P, Tate B, Park I, Kidd C. Work Organization and Patient Care Staff Injuries: The Impact of Different Care Models for “Alternate Level of Care” Patients. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 2003; 44(4):392-399.
21. Ostry A, Shannon T, Dubois L, Nathoo T.  The Interplay of Public Health and Economics in the Early Development of Nutrition Policy in Canada. Critical Public Health (Special Issue on Nutrition Policy). 2003; 13(2):171-185.
22. Ostry A. The Relationship between De-industrialization and Community and Ecological Sustainability. Environmental Health. 2003; 3 (1):590-70.

Selected Reports/Conference Proceedings

1. D’Anguilli A, Maggi S, Halseth R, Halseth G, Hanlon N, Ostry A. Integrated Study of the Social Dimensions of Rural Health. Proceedings from NETHRN - BC’s Second Annual Conference, Kamloops, December 1st, 2006.
2. Cohen M, McLaren A, Sharman Z, Murray A, Hughes M, Ostry A. From Support to Isolation: The High Cost of British Columbia's Declining Home Support Services. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: BC Office, June, 2006. www.policyalternatives.ca/Reports/2006/06/ReportsStudies1380/index.cfm?pa=4B59033D
3. LaMontagne AD, Shaw A, Ostry A, Louie AM, and Keegel T (May 2006). Workplace Stress in Victoria: Developing a Systems Approach. Melbourne: Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, 152 pages. ISBN 0-9757335-3-2. www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/workplacestress).
4. Salomons K. The Response of Two BC Sawmill Communities to the Recession of the Early 1980s: A Newspaper Content Analysis of Social Capital in the Context of Economic Downturn. M.Sc. Thesis, UBC, April 2006.
5. Halseth R, Halseth G, Hanlon N, D’Anguilli, Ostry A. Integrated Study of the Social Dimensions of Rural Health. Proceedings from NETHRN - BC’s First Annual Conference Prince George, November 16^th, 2005.
6. Ostry A, Rideout K, Martin C. A Review of Research on School Nutrition Policy. Ministry of Education, June 3^rd, 2005.
7. Cohen M, Murphy J, Nutland K, Ostry A. Continuing Care: Renewal or Retreat- BC Residential and Home Health Care Restructuring 2001-2004. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: BC Office, April 2005.

Selected Invited Presentations

1. Ostry A. Food Security Indicators for Regional Health Authorities. The British Columbia Experience.  Joint Australian, Canadian, Norwegian Panel Presentation on the Food Security and Public Health Policy. International Society for Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, Oslo, June 20- 23, 2007.
2. Ostry A. NETHRN-BC. A New Emerging Team for Health Research in British Columbia. Invited Presentation to the Rural Secretariat, Vancouver, Feb 27, 2007.
3. Ostry A.  Developing Indicators for Food Security for Regional Health Authorities. Seminar., Woolongong University,  Australia. May 15, 2007.
4. Ostry A. The Social Dimensions of Rural Health. Keynote Speaker. Rural Health Research Colloquium, Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia. May 16, 2007.
5. Ostry The Availability of Social Capital in Urban compared to Rural Communities in British Columbia. Rural Health. Speaker. Rural Health Research Colloquium, Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia. May 17, 2007.
6. Ostry A. History of the Canadian Hospital system, Saskatoon, May 30, 2007. (Organized panel on the history of Medicare in Canada).
7. Ostry A, Kirbyson A, Seed B. Panel on Food Security at Agricultural Values Conference,  Victoria, BC. June 1, 2007.
8. Ostry A. The Urban/Rural Gap in Health Status in British Columbia. Second Annual NETHRN-BC Conference, November 30 – December 2, Kamloops,  2006
9. Ostry A. Social Capital in Rural Communities. Invited discussant. Human Early Learning Partnership Roundtable, Simon Fraser University, February 9, 2007.
10. Ostry A. Organizer Panel on International Food Security International Sociological Association, Durban, South Africa, July 26-29, 2006.
11. Ostry A. Organizer, Panel on History of Nutrition at the European Conference on Social History, Amsterdam, March, 2006.
12. Ostry A. What Are We Eating? Institute for Canadian Studies, McGill University, Keynote Speaker and Invited Panelist/Discussant. “Evolution of Nutrition Policy and Dietary Change in Canada”, Montreal, Feb 16, 2006
13. Ostry A.  Nutrition Policy in Canada. Invited Seminar, School of Social Work, UBC, Vancouver, Feb 3, 2006.
14. Ostry A. Establishing a New Emerging Team to Investigate the Social Dimensions of Rural and Northern Health in British Columbia. Invited Seminar BC Rural and Remote Health Research Network and the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, UBC, Vancouver, Feb 3, 2006.
15. Ostry A. NETHRN-BC- A Program of Research on  Rural Health in Canada in BC. Organizer. First Annual NETHRN-BC Conference, Prince George, November 16th, 2005.
16. Ostry A. Flexibilization and Precarious Employment. Questions for Addition to the JCQ. JCQ International Workshop, Amsterdam,  November 10, 2005.
17. Ostry A. The Development of a Collaborative Program of Research on Rural Health in Canada and Australia, Deakin University, Melbourne, October 6, 2005.