General Working Population
VOLP has been added to the Canadian Community Health Survey conducted by Statistics Canada in 2022 to measure absenteeism and presenteeism in the Canadian working population. The project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Project Grant.
Zhang W, Qian H, L’Heureux J, Johns G, Koehoorn M, Woodcock S. Establishing work productivity loss norms: Absenteeism and presenteeism in a Canadian working population. Social Science & Medicine. 2025, 118892, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118892.
Caregivers
VOLP has been adapted to measure time spent on caregiving responsibilities and the related work productivity loss among caregivers. Caregivers refer to individuals who provide care to family and friends with health problems. The project was funded by the BC SUPPORT Unit Methods Cluster Project Award [HESM – 206].
Gelfand A, Sou J, Sawatzky R, Prescott K, Pearce A, Anis AH, Lee C, Zhang W. Valuation of lost productivity in caregivers: A validation study. Frontiers in Psychology. 2021;12:727871. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.727871
Alopecia Areata
Tam ACT, Naik H, Gilding AJ, Trenaman L, Khosravi-Hafshejani T, Lynd LD, Zhang W. Productivity Loss and Health-Related Quality of Life Among People Living with Alopecia Areata: A Canada-wide cross-sectional study. Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1177/12034754261445858
Arthritis
Zhang W, Bansback N, Sun H, Pedersen R, Kotak S, Anis AH. Impact of etanercept tapering on work productivity in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: results from the PRIZE study. RMD Open. 2016;2(2):e000222. doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2015-000222
Zhang W, Bansback N, Sun H, Pedersen R, Kotak S, Anis AH. Estimating the monetary value of the annual productivity gained in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis receiving etanercept plus methotrexate: interim results from the PRIZE study. RMD Open. 2015;1(1):e000042. doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2014-000042
Asthma
Sadatsafavi M, Rousseau R, Chen W, et al. The preventable burden of productivity loss due to suboptimal asthma control: a population-based study. Chest. 2014;145(4):787-793. doi:10.1378/chest.13-1619
Atopic Dermatitis
Naik H, Tam ACT, Trenaman L, Lynd LD, Zhang W. Work productivity loss and health-related quality of life in people living with atopic dermatitis: A Canada-wide cross-sectional study. Dermatitis. 2025. doi: 10.1177/17103568251403560.
Cardiovascular Disease and Risk
Zhang W, Li KH, Gobis B, Zed PJ, Lynd LD. Work Productivity Losses and Associated Risk Factors Among University Employees in the CAMMPUS Wellness Program. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2020;62(1):25-29. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001734
Migarine
Naik H, Tam ACT, Trenaman L, Lynd LD, Zhang W. Productivity loss associated with disability from migraine: a Canada-wide cross-sectional study. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, 2024;1-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/cjn.2024.337
Multiple Sclerosis
Rodriguez Llorian E, Zhang W, Khakban A, Michaux K, Patten S, Traboulsee A, Oh J, Kolind S, Prat A, Tam R, Lynd LD. Employment status, productivity loss and associated factors among people with multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal. 2023;29(7):866-874. doi: 10.1177/13524585231164295
Rodriguez EL, Zhang W, Khakban A, Patten S, Traboulsee A, Oh J, Kolind S, Prat A, Tam R, Lynd LD. Productivity loss among people with early multiple sclerosis. A Canadian study. Multiple Sclerosis Journal. 2022 Feb 9;13524585211069070. doi: 10.1177/13524585211069070
Systemic Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease
McCormick N, Marra CA, Sadatsafavi M, Kopec JA, Aviña‐Zubieta JA. Excess Productivity Costs of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic Sclerosis, and Sjögren’s Syndrome: A General Population–Based Study. Arthritis Care & Research. 2019;71(1):142-154. doi:10.1002/acr.23573
McCormick N, Reimer K, Famouri A, Marra CA, Aviña-Zubieta JA. Filling the gaps in SARDs research: collection and linkage of administrative health data and self-reported survey data for a general population-based cohort of individuals with and without diagnoses of systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease (SARDs) from British Columbia, Canada. BMJ Open. 2017;7(6):e013977. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013977