Publications and resources
Below are some of our key publications that have demonstrably influenced policy or opinion in Australia and around the world. For a full list of publications for the Healthy Working Lives Research Group, visit the Monash University Research Portal profiles for Prof Alex Collie and A/Prof Ross Iles.
2022
The health impacts of a 4-month long community-wide COVID-19 lockdown: Findings from a prospective longitudinal study in the state of Victoria, Australia.
PLoS One. 2022 Apr 7;17(4):e0266650. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266650. eCollection 2022.
Daniel Griffiths, Luke Sheehan, Dennis Petrie, Caryn van Vreden, Peter Whiteford, Alex Collie.
A study to determine health impacts during, and following, an extended community lockdown and COVID-19 outbreak in the Australian state of Victoria, compared with the rest of Australia.
Changes in work and health of Australians during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal cohort study.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Mar 12;22(1):487. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12897-4.
Daniel Griffiths, Luke Sheehan, Caryn van Vreden, Dennis Petrie, Peter Whiteford, Malcolm R Sim, Alex Collie.
A study on work and health during the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in mental and physical health following experiences of work loss and return to work.
The physical and mental health of Australian truck drivers: a national cross-sectional study.
BMC Public Health. 2022 Mar 8;22(1):464. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-12850-5.
Caryn van Vreden, Ting Xia, Alex Collie, Elizabeth Pritchard, Sharon Newnam, Dan I Lubman, Abilio de Almeida Neto, Ross Iles.
The aims of this study were to characterise the physical and mental health of Australian truck drivers overall, and to identify any differences in factors influencing the health profile of long-haul compared to short-haul drivers.
2021
Returning to the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic: The concerns of Australian workers.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2021 Dec;31(4):711-720. doi: 10.1007/s10926-021-09990-7.
Daniel Griffiths, Luke Sheehan, Caryn van Vreden, Peter Whiteford, Alex Collie.
Publication from our landmark COVID-19 Work and Health study that identifies the concerns Australian workers hold regarding workplace reopening after periods of lockdown.
Timing of Health Service Use Among Truck Drivers After a Work-Related Injury or Illness.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2021 Dec;31(4):744-753. doi: 10.1007/s10926-021-10001-y.
Ting Xia, Alex Collie, Sharon Newnam, Dan Lubman, Ross Iles.
A publication from the Driving Health study that describes when truck drivers access health services, including services for mental health.
Changes in Access to Australian Disability Support Benefits During a Period of Social Welfare Reform.
Journal of Social Policy. 2021, 1-23. doi: 10.1017/S0047279420000732
Alex Collie, Luke Sheehan, Tyler Lane.
This study describes how reforms to the Disability Support Pension eligibility and administrative processes led to a significant reduction in DSP grants and differentially affected people based on the nature of their medical condition or disability.
Prevalence, predictors and wage replacement duration associated with diagnostic imaging in Australian workers with accepted claims for low back pain: a retrospective cohort study.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2021 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s10926-021-09981-8.
Michael Di Donato, Ross Iles, Rachelle Buchbinder, Ting Xia, Alex Collie.
This study identified the prevalence of diagnostic spinal imaging for compensated Australian workers with low back pain and its association with wage replacement duration.
2020
Development and Pilot Assessment of the PACE Tool: Helping Case Managers Identify and Respond to Risk Factors in Workers’ Compensation Case Management.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2020 Jun;30(2):167-182. doi: 10.1007/s10926-019-09858-x.
Ross Iles, Luke Sheehan, Karen Munk, Cameron Gosling.
A comprehensive description of a tool to identify injured workers at risk of delayed return to work, including the results of applying the tool with more than 500 injured workers.
Impact of legislative reform on benefit access and disability duration in workers’ compensation: an interrupted time series study.
Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2020 Jan;77(1):32-39. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2019-106063.
Alex Collie, Dianne Beck, Shannon Elise Gray, Tyler Jeremiah Lane
Population based evaluation of a workers’ compensation policy change using sophisticated quasi-experimental analysis.
Psychological distress in workers’ compensation claimants: prevalence, predictors and mental health service use.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2020 Jun;30(2):194-202. doi: 10.1007/s10926-019-09862-1.
Alex Collie, Luke Sheehan, Tyler Lane, Ross Iles.
Describes a high prevalence of psychological distress among workers with musculoskeletal disorder claims, and that most such workers in distress do not receive specialist mental health care.
The impact of income support systems on healthcare quality and functional capacity in workers with low back pain: a realist review.
Pain. 2020 Dec;161(12):2690-2709. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001978.
Michael Di Donato, Ross Iles, Tyler Lane, Rachelle Buchbinder, Alex Collie.
This realist review revealed the impact of intersecting healthcare and social systems on healthcare quality and functional capacity in workers suffering low back pain.
The Impact of Income Sources on Financial Stress in Workers’ Compensation Claimants.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2020 Dec;30(4):679-688. doi: 10.1007/s10926-020-09883-1.
Luke Sheehan, Tyler Lane, Alex Collie.
Using data from the National Return to Work Survey, this study shows that injured workers receiving workers’ compensation report greater financial stress than those back at work or those who were receiving the aged pension or superannuation.
2019
Individual recovery expectations and prognosis of outcomes in non-specific low back pain: prognostic factor review.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019 Nov 25;2019(11):CD011284. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD011284.pub2.
Jill Hayden, Maria Wilson, Richard Riley, Ross Iles, Tamar Pincus, Rachel Ogilvie.
This is a comprehensive review of the ability of recovery expectations to predict outcomes for people with low back pain, spanning 60 studies and more than 30,000 people with back pain.
Factors Associated with Employer Support for Injured Workers during a Workers’ Compensation Claim.
Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2019 Dec;29(4):718-727. doi: 10.1007/s10926-019-09834-5.
Luke Sheehan, Tyler Lane, Shannon Gray, Alex Collie.
This study identified characteristics of injured workers who are more or less likely to feel supported by their employers and receive support in the form of a return to work plan.
Work disability in Australia: an overview of prevalence, expenditure, support systems and services.
J Occup Rehab. 2019 Sep;29(3):526-539. doi: 10.1007/s10926-018-9816-4..
Alex Collie, Michael Di Donato, Ross Iles.
Landmark study that describes prevalence of work disability across Australia’s “system of systems” including workers compensation, social security, life insurance, sickness absence.
Patterns and predictors of return to work after major trauma: a prospective, population-based registry study.
Annals of Surgery. 2019 May;269(5):972-978. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000002666.
Alex Collie, Pamela M Simpson, Peter A Cameron, Shanthi Ameratunga, Jennie Ponsford, Ronan A Lyons, Sandra Braaf, Andrew Nunn, James E Harrison, Belinda J Gabbe.
Identifies distinct patterns of return to work after major trauma, from analysis of population based longitudinal trauma registry data.
Evaluating the success of legislative amendments designed to reduce work disability.
Policy Design and Practice. 2019; 3: 291-304, doi: 10.1080/25741292.2019.1610147.
Shannon Gray, Tyler Lane, Behrooz Hassani-Mahmooei, Alex Collie.
Examined the effect of a major change to a workers’ compensation system, finding minimal evidence for intended effects and likely unintended consequences due to antagonistic components in the legislation.
We value media engagement as an important way to share our knowledge and findings directly with the community. The Healthy Working Lives Research Group is happy to provide expert comment to journalists and can be contacted via media@monash.edu.
Here are some of the highlights of our recent media activity:
The Australian | Resilient Victorians recovered from lockdown within months 7 April 2022 |
PsychCentral | Tips to Cope with a Layoff – Dr Daniel Griffiths discusses his COVID study 3 April 2022 |
3AW Breakfast | The shocking state of Aussie truck drivers' health – Ross Iles discusses the Driving Health study findings 23 March 2022 |
The Australian | Truckies carrying too big a load 23 March 2022 |
The Conversation | 30 September 2021 |
The Sydney Morning Herald | Mental health is becoming our biggest lockdown concern 20 July 2021 |
The Age | Jerry drove trucks for 60 years, now it’s catching up with him 4 February 2021 |
7.30 | Serious physical health crisis facing Australian truck drivers 4 February 2021 |
ABC News | Landmark research reveals 'horrific' mental health crisis facing Australian truck drivers 22 November 2020 |
The Australian | Top researchers recognised in The Australian's 2020 Research Magazine 23 September 2020 |
The Conversation | Counting the costs of illness and injury on Australian workers 1 May 2018 |
More media about the Driving Health study can be found here.
Our latest reports and publications are below.
For more information, please contact us at med-HWLRGroup@monash.edu
2022 Healthy Working Lives Seminar Series (Prevention)
Health impacts of regulations in the transport industry
Driving Health lead researcher Associate Professor Ross Iles discusses the health impacts of regulations in the transport industry. With special guests Greg Fill (National Heavy Vehicle Regulator) and Rod Hannifey (OzHelp ambassador and truck driver).
How the job gets done – You've gotta do what you gotta do
Driving Health lead researcher Associate Professor Ross Iles discusses the ins and outs of how truck drivers 'get the job done' and the health implications associated with it. With special guests Naomi Frauenfelder (Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds) and Sharon Newnam (Monash University Accident Research Centre).
Everyone deserves to be safe at work – how the big players are leading the way
Driving Health Research Fellow Dr Elizabeth Pritchard is joined by Chris Wilks – Group Manager, Safety, Health and Wellbeing, Linfox – to discuss Healthy Fox, Linfox's dedicated program to support the health and wellbeing of team members.
What does a healthy truck driver look like?
Associate Professor Ross Iles discusses the findings from the Driving Health study around the health and lifestyle risks truck drivers face on a daily basis. A diverse panel of experts sheds some light on the truths behind what it's really like to be an Australian truck driver and the health challenges they face.
2022 Healthy Working Lives Seminar Series (Recovery)
The (un)holy trinity? Opioids, imaging and surgery in workers with low pack pain
Dr Michael Di Donato and Professor Ian Harris describe a series of studies that have examined the prevalence and impacts of opioids, spinal imaging and spinal surgery in Australian workers with low back pain.
What do we know about secondary psychological conditions in workers' compensation?
Professor Alex Collie and Dr Dielle Felman present data on the prevalence and impacts of secondary psychological conditions, and explore how worker’s compensation systems are identifying and supporting workers with these conditions.
The critical role of insurance case managers in return to work
Associate Professor Ross Iles and Matt Bannan (Head of Stakeholder Engagement, WorkCover Queensland) describe some of the practical learnings from introducing change to case management in multiple workers' compensation jurisdictions.
New insights into healthcare use in Australian workers’ compensation schemes
This seminar presents new insights into the two most common types of health services in workers comp: General practice and physiotherapy. Presented by Professor Alex Collie and Dr Mary Wyatt (Occupational Physician).
What happens to workers with long duration compensation claims?
In this seminar Dr Daniel Griffiths and Luke Sheehan describe how common long duration claims are, differences between jurisdictions, and present findings from a new study describing what happens when workers compensation payments stop.
How do workplaces support return to work?
This seminar presents a series of studies in which workers provide unique insights into what helped with return to work, including emotional and practical support, return to work planning and workplace contact. Presented by Dr Shannon Gray and Andrew McGarity (Fire & Rescue NSW).
2022 Healthy Working Lives Seminar Series (Systems)
Transitions to Centrelink after long workers' compensation claims
In this seminar, Professor Alex Collie and Dr Daniel Griffiths present the first Australian study to describe transitions to Centrelink after workers’ compensation benefits stop.
Hospital admissions after long-duration workers’ compensation claims
The end of a compensation claim can be stressful period of adjustment – does the hospital system pick up the pieces? Presented by Dr Daniel Griffiths and Professor Alex Collie.
What healthcare do people receive when workers' compensation ends?
In this seminar Dr Michael Di Donato presents the findings from Report #3 of the Transitions Study, the first Australian study to examine hospitalisations towards the end of long workers’ compensation claims, and afterwards.
Our research
What is the Driving Health study?
Driving Health lead researcher Associate Professor Ross Iles introduces the 3-year Driving Health study, which aims to develop evidence-based strategies to improve the health and wellbeing of Australian truck drivers.
What is the Driving Health Allocator Training?
Associate Professor Ross Iles explains how the Driving Health Allocator Training has an impact on improving the health and wellbeing of Aussie truck drivers.
An introduction to the COMPARE project
Director of the Healthy Working Lives Research Group Professor Alex Collie introduces the COMPARE project.
What is qualitative data?
Have you ever wondering what it means when researchers refer to qualitative data? Dr Elizabeth Pritchard explains what exactly it means.