Professor Alex Collie
Professor - School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Alex is Professor and Director of the Healthy Working Lives Research Group and co-Director of the Division of Health Services Systems and Policy, in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
He holds an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2020 to 2024), in which he is leading research on health outcomes and care provision for people with work disability, and studying the intersection of workers’ compensation and social security systems. Alex is an applied public health and social policy researcher, with a focus on work disability, workers’ compensation and injury recovery.
He leads a number of large multi-disciplinary and multi-institution research projects funded by the Australian and international grant funding agencies, workers’ compensation and occupational health and safety regulatory authorities. He has a PhD in psychology, and has published over 200 peer reviewed research articles, book chapters and technical reports.
Conference Presentation
Work disability, suicide and self-harm: Findings and implications of a global evidence review.
Work disability occurs when an injury, illness or other health condition limits the ability of a worker to participate in paid employment. Several lines of evidence suggest that people with work disability are also at increased risk of suicide and intentional self-harm, however the evidence on this relationship has not previously been the subject of systematic review. This project systematically reviewed and synthesised the global research literature regarding the relationship between work disability and subsequent suicide or intentional self-harm. Peer-reviewed quantitative and qualitative studies published in English from 1st January 2000 were included if they reported suicide or self-harm outcomes in people aged 15 years or older with work disability. 47 eligible studies were included, including nine set in workers’ compensation, 20 in sickness absence, 13 in disability pension systems, and five from mixed cohorts. Of 44 quantitative studies, 41 reported a positive relationship between work disability and suicidal behaviour. The relationship is observed consistently across nations, work disability income support systems and in people with a range of health conditions. Several factors elevate risk of suicidal behaviour, including presence of mental health conditions and longer work disability duration. There were few quality studies in some nations and no suicide prevention interventions. There were only 2 Australian studies. This project demonstrates the need for governments, employers and those involved in the delivery of care and support to people with work disability to focus on identification and monitoring of those at greatest risk of suicidal behaviour, and the need for suicide prevention programs in our work disability systems.