Disability is a crucial problem for society: it excludes individuals from full participation in society, education, and employment, and
increases their dependency on social security and care. Persons with disabilities have lower participation rates in the labour force than those without. Work is important: good work keeps you healthy, good health keeps you working. Since older adults are choosing (and often need) to remain in the workforce, the problem of work disability is expected to increase dramatically. Older workers with more potential for health-related issues will present new challenges for preventing work disability.
Dr. Kristman’s program of research proposes to target the prevention of work disability through accommodation. Accommodation is defined as modifications to work and work environments designed to enable participation in work. These include both formal and informal accommodations and adaptations at various stakeholder levels (workers, workplaces, organizations, sectors, policy, educational institutions, the health care system, etc.).