Trusted research, with reach and impact
The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is an independent, multidisciplinary, not-for-profit research organization located in Ontario, Canada. IWH conducts and mobilizes research that supports policy-makers, employers and workers in creating healthy, safe and inclusive work environments.
Latest news & findings
A new tool to help workers make health disclosure decision
Workers with chronic or episodic health conditions may face the decision of whether to disclose their health information at work. But many find this decision challenging and stressful. A worker may need supports due to their condition but may worry that sharing health information could impact their reputation or job security. A new IWH tool, called DCIDE, was developed to help workers make these hard decisions.
Meeting on newcomer workers’ health inspires ideas for research and collaboration
Newcomer workers have a higher risk getting injured or ill at work than Canadian-born workers. In a step to address this longstanding issue, IWH recently hosted over 50 stakeholders to discuss the health and safety challenges these workers face. They also discussed how employers and others are addressing these challenges, and what research is needed to better support these workers.
Cannabis use by workers before and after legalization in Canada
On October 17, 2018, the non-medical use of cannabis was legalized in Canada. To examine the implications of this change for workplaces, the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) embarked on two research projects. The first project set out to explore changes in cannabis consumption habits among workers; changes in their perceptions about such consumption; and associations between cannabis consumption and occupational injury risks. The second project looked at the use of cannabis to treat symptoms in the aftermath of a work-related injury/illness. This Issue Briefing provides an overview of findings from these two studies.
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IWH Speaker Series
Learn directly from IWH researchers themselves about their latest findings in health, safety and disability prevention. The IWH Speaker Series is a livestream webinar series that features new study findings from the Institute for Work & Health. The webinars are usually held once a month, on a Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. EST. Recordings are also available to watch on demand.
View IWH Speaker SeriesExplore the site
Tools and guides
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.
Impact case studies
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.
Research summaries
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.