HAMILTON, ON (February 16, 2012) – The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has partnered with the Ontario Lung Association to present a complimentary, two-part webinar series, Work-Related Asthma: Breathe Easier, to educate people about the causes of this respiratory disease.
Asthma is a serious illness, affecting about three million people in Canada; 1.7 million in Ontario alone[i]. Work-related asthma (asthma caused by exposure to an agent in the workplace) is the most common occupational respiratory disorder in industrialized countries and can greatly affect an individual's ability to work.
The webinars will be presented by Dr. Michael Pysklywec, Occupational Health Physician, and Michelle Tew, Occupational Health Nurse, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc. Work-Related Asthma: Breathe Easier Parts 1 & 2 are intended to help health care providers and health and safety professionals understand how to recognize and manage work-related asthma in both workers and patients, manage symptoms, and reduce or prevent workplace exposures. The webinars will be broadcast live from CCOHS in Hamilton, Ontario from 1 to 2 p.m. EST; Part 1 on February 22, 2012 and Part 2 on March 21, 2012.
Attendance at these webinars will qualify for continuing education points.
The webinars are intended for primary care health practitioners and providers, occupational health and safety professionals, industrial hygienists, and anyone with an interest in learning about recognition and prevention of work-related asthma.
This webinar series was developed as part of the Asthma Plan of Action, by the Ontario Lung Association, in cooperation with CCOHS and funded by the Government of Ontario, to help reduce the high financial and human health costs of work-related asthma. The Ontario Lung Association, in collaboration with Ontario Thoracic Society Provider Education Program, McMaster University, the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers, and Health & Safety Ontario are providing workers, employers and primary care healthcare providers with up-to-date guideline-based education on work-related asthma.
More information about the webinar and how to register are available on the CCOHS website.
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About CCOHS:
The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), a Canadian federal government agency based in Hamilton, Ontario is Canada's national resource for the advancement of workplace health and safety. CCOHS promotes the total well-being - physical, psychosocial and mental health - of working Canadians by providing information, training, education, management systems and solutions that support health and safety programs and the prevention of injury and illness. CCOHS partners and collaborates with agencies and organizations from Canada and around the world to improve the quality and quantity of resources and programs, as well as expand the breadth of usage of occupational health information to many different segments of society.
About the Ontario Lung Association:
The Lung Association is a registered charity that provides information, education and funding for research to improve lung health. The organization focuses on the prevention and control of asthma, chronic lung disease, tobacco control as well as healthy air and the effects of pollution on lung health. For information on lung health, call its Helpline at 1-888-344-LUNG (5864), which is staffed by certified respiratory educators, or visit www.on.lung.ca. You can also follow its activities on Twitter @OntarioLung and Facebook.
[i] Your Lungs, Your Life: Insights and Solutions into Lung Health in Ontario; Ontario Lung Association research report; 2011
