The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is a Canadian leader in work injury and disability prevention research. An independent, not-for-profit organization, IWH conducts and shares actionable research to promote, protect and improve the health and safety of working people.
Serious injuries and fatalities resulting from falls from heights are a major concern in construction work. In 2015, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour implemented regulations defining working-at-heights training program standards and establishing a program for approving training providers in the province. In an IWH Speaker Series presentation on February 26, Scientist Dr. Lynda Robson shares findings from a study examining the reach and effectiveness of this training initiative.
For every person who dies from a work-related traumatic injury, at least six people die from an occupational disease. Fittingly, preventing the work exposures behind these diseases is a priority in many jurisdictions, including Ontario. But to push forward on this agenda, we need to build up our disease and exposure surveillance systems, Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) Director Dr. Paul Demers noted in his remarks last November at the 2018 annual Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture, hosted by IWH. His Nachemson lecture is now available as a slidecast.
The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) congratulates Ontario Minister of Labour Laurie Scott for her appointment of Dr. Paul Demers, director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre in Toronto, to lead a review of the scientific evidence on the role of workplace exposures in causing cancers among Ontario workers. In a letter to the Minister, IWH President Cam Mustard says he expects the review will have influence in provincial jurisdictions across Canada.
A tool designed to measure "two sides of the coin"—OHS systems and culture—developed by Workplace Safety North with Institute for Work & Health expertise, has been endorsed by the Ontario Mining Association, and now is in demand well beyond the province and the sector.
Public consultation is now under way on a draft strategy for building an inclusive workforce—one where people with and without disabilities have the same choices in their jobs and careers. The organizations behind the draft strategy, hosts of the Disability and Work in Canada 2018 conference held last December in Ottawa, are hoping to gather input on the document from as many perspectives as possible.
IN THE CURRENT ISSUE...
Safety-conscious supervisors can lower worker injuries, even among those who experience OHS vulnerability.
Advocates are seeking input on a draft strategy to improve work opportunities for people with disabilities.
Job placements, with tailored support, help young adults with disabilities enter the workforce.
Integrate evidence-based policies and practices into your occupational health and safety, return-to-work and rehabilitation programs. IWH has created a number of tools and guides based on our research findings that can help improve program outcomes.
Find out how IWH research is making a difference. Read our impact case studies, in which policy-makers, workplaces and other stakeholders in health, safety and disability prevention tell how IWH research helped improve their policies, programs and practices.
Whether it’s a policy briefing, a systematic review summary or the highlights of a specific research project, we’ve compiled a number of plain-language summaries to help you understand the research we’re doing, what we have found, and how we found it.
Learn directly from the researchers themselves about their latest findings in health, safety and disability prevention. We host regular presentations (in person or live stream) through our IWH Speaker Series and our annual Nachemson lecture.