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
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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. To understand why, 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.
Which workers and jobs will be most affected by machine learning?
Machine learning is being adopted by more and more Canadian workplaces. Given this technology’s ability to learn, adapt and generate work outputs, it also has the potential to perform job tasks in place of humans. But which workers might be most affected by the use of machine learning? An IWH study explores this question.
New tool for deciding whether to share health information at work
Join us on November 19 as Dr. Monique Gignac introduces a new tool called DCIDE. The tool is designed to help workers consider whether to disclose a chronic health condition at work. Why are workplace disclosure decisions so difficult? Gignac will share research findings on this question and describe how DCIDE can help.
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.