What's new

A safety climate audit tool for mining operations is now being piloted in Ontario. Developed as a result of Ontario’s Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review, the tool is a product of collaboration among the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), Workplace Safety North (WSN) and the Ontario Mining Association. Read about what’s called the Internal Responsibility System Climate Assessment and Audit Tool (IRS CAAT), and the work that went into its development in the latest issue of At Work.

Strengthening rehabilitation services is becoming a key challenge to health systems around the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In February, the global body released new guidelines encouraging countries to ramp up their rehabilitation services to ensure people with health conditions function at their best. The guidelines are evidence-based—and that is where IWH comes in. Institute Scientist Dr. Andrea Furlan led a team that provided the research evidence behind five of the nine recommendations in the new WHO guidelines.

Effective workplace programs to help injured and ill workers return to their jobs are multi-faceted. They offer some combination of health services, return-to-work (RTW) coordination and work modifications. That’s according to a recent systematic review update conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR). It also finds work-related cognitive behavioural therapy improves RTW for workers with mental health conditions. Read the open access article or find out more in At Work.

Most health-care providers, when treating acute and visible injuries, find the workers’ compensation system and return-to-work process relatively straightforward. But when treating patients with gradual onset, invisible or complex conditions, the challenges can be many. A new study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) examines the challenges from the perspectives of health-care providers and case managers in four provinces. Dr. Agnieszka Kosny shared the findings at a recent plenary and in an At Work article, now online.

In the early 1990s, there was a growing recognition of the need for patient-reported outcome measures for musculoskeletal conditions and injuries affecting the upper limb—the arm, shoulder or hand. That was why a team at the Institute for Work & Health and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons developed the DASH Outcome Measure. Twenty years later, the DASH is used across the world in more than 50 languages. Its impact is felt in both research and clinical settings. In this video, DASH developers talk about why they think it's stood the test of time.

Low-back pain is a common health problem, sometimes lasting for longer than three months in what’s called “chronic” pain. A new review by Cochrane Back and Neck, housed at the Institute, looks at yoga for treating this condition. It finds moderate evidence that yoga is more effective than non-exercise controls for back-related functioning at six months, and for pain at three to four months.

"They are the first port of call for workers hurt on the job. But when decisions are made about accident victims with complex injuries, a new study suggests doctors feel sidelined by workers’ compensation boards. The report, conducted by the independent, Toronto-based Institute for Work and Health, examined the role of doctors and other health care professionals in workers’ compensation across four provinces, including Ontario," writes Toronto Star's Sara Mojtehedzadeh. 

The Certification of Recognition (COR) program recognizes and rewards employers that have robust occupational health and safety (OHS) and return-to-work policies. But do these employers actually have lower injury rates? That was the key question behind a study led by Dr. Chris McLeod of the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and the University of British Columbia’s Partnership for Work, Health and Safety. The findings, reported on in the Spring 2016 issue of At Work, are also summed up in a new video card. Check it out and please share!