August 2018

Working long hours increases risk of diabetes in women but not men: study

Women who work 45 hours or more a week face a 63 per cent higher risk of developing diabetes than women who work 35-44 hours. Among men who work long hours, however, the incidence of diabetes tends to go down. This is according to a study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, which followed a sample of 7,000 Ontario workers over 12 years. The findings, published in July in an open access article in BMJ Diabetes Research & Care, highlight the importance of work and health research that includes sex/gender-based analyses.

Read about the study

RTW program by hospital, unions sees disability duration drop by half

In 2011, a large Ontario hospital set out to tackle injury and disability rates that were well above those of industry peers. It worked with its three unions to develop a return-to-work (RTW) program—one that was innovative in providing for union involvement throughout the RTW process. Over the next three years, injury claims fell and disability duration was nearly cut in half. This is according to an IWH study that evaluated the implementation of the program.

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Men and women differ in the way work conditions are associated with stress

Men and women are exposed to different types of psychosocial conditions at work, and to different degrees. Are men and women also different in their responses to these potential stressors? A study examines the link between workplace psychosocial factors (such as low job control, low supervisor or co-worker support, and low job security) and stress among men and women. The researchers did find sex/gender differences—but not always in expected ways.

Read the summary

Save the date: Dr. Paul Demers delivers IWH’s annual Nachemson lecture November 28

The Institute’s Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture takes place this year on November 28. The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Paul Demers, director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC). In this role, Demers has been working with colleagues and collaborators across the country to develop and improve the surveillance of work-related cancers, establish their human and economic burden, and draw on research to develop policy recommendations aimed at preventing exposure. The event, to take place at the Design Exchange in downtown Toronto, is free and open to the public.

Find out more and register

New website highlight: Project pages help track research outcomes

Among the new features of IWH’s redesigned website are project pages, which pull together the goals of a study, the researchers and partner organizations involved, and the outcomes and findings as shared across different media and formats. We just added several new ongoing projects. Check them out. You’ll find the directory of these and other ongoing and recently completed projects under Our Research.

Go to IWH’s project directory

CRE-MSD position papers apply current research to improve workplace practices

The Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD) provides a variety of position papers to help workplaces across diverse industries take current research and apply it to everyday work situations. Two new position papers have been just been released. In Opportunities for ergonomics & MSD prevention, Drs. Michael Greig and Patrick Neumann highlight Six Sigma tools and approaches as they relate to musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) prevention and ergonomic tools. In Do sit-stand workstations improve cardiovascular health?, Dr. David Rempel tackles the popular sit-or-stand debate by addressing whether more standing at work will improve cardiovascular health. Other position papers are also available on the CRE-MSD website.

See the CRE-MSD position papers

Uyen Vu
Communications Associate
613-979-7742
uvu@iwh.on.ca