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An out-of-frame doctor talks to someone on a laptop screen
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IWH set to launch telementoring project on occupational medicine for health professionals

Frontline health-care providers play an important role in helping people return to work following a work-related injury or illness. But family doctors and other frontline practitioners may lack familiarity with the workers’ compensation system and return-to-work processes. A new telementoring project is being launched in Ontario to address this skills gap. Project ECHO on Occupational and Environmental Medicine, to be hosted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), will launch in the fall. It will be the first such project on occupational medicine, using the innovative hub-and-spoke health-care mentoring model called ECHO—short for Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes—that’s now used around the world.

View from the back of a man in a suit in an urban street
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Unemployment benefits linked to lower mortality rates over 10 years: IWH study

We know that being out of work puts people at risk of short- and long-term health consequences—including higher death rates. A new Institute for Work & Health study looks at whether—and how much—having income support during unemployment can lessen the negative impact.

Faraz Shahidi
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Mustard post-doc fellow named IWH associate scientist

Congratulations to Dr. Faraz Vahid Shahidi, who has been named associate scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. Shahidi, a PhD in social and behavioural health sciences from the University of Toronto and an MPhil in comparative social policy from the University of Oxford, recently completed the Mustard post-doctoral fellowship in work and health at the Institute.   

 

 

female factory worker sitting on floor with tools, looking worried about what to do
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Weaker OHS procedures, policies explain small employers’ higher injury risks: study

Workers at small firms say they are more frequently exposed to hazards and report more work-related injuries and illnesses than workers at large firms. But an Institute for Work & Health study finds the injury risks in large and small firms even out when weaker occupational health and safety policies at small firms are taken into account.

Silhouettes of cranberries harvest workers in the light of a sunrise
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Claim suppression study in B.C. finds half of work-related injuries, illnesses not reported  

About half of British Columbia workers who have a lost-time work injury or illness don’t report the injury or illness to WorkSafeBC. This is according to a recent study on claim suppression commissioned by WorkSafeBC and conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and Prism Economics and Analysis. It found the main reasons for not reporting are workers not knowing they are entitled to compensation or how to apply, and thinking it’s not worth their time to make a claim. As detailed in a policy briefing, the study also found an estimated four to 13 per cent of people with work-related injuries in B.C. experience claim suppression—i.e. pressure or inducement from an employer not to make a claim.

Logo for World Congress on Safety and Health at Work September 20-23, 2021
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XXII World Congress program for virtual event now out

The XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work is now less than 100 days away! Check out the line-up for the virtual event, taking place September 20-23, 2021. Co-hosted nationally by IWH, the Congress offers more than 30 sessions and symposia, featuring 150 speakers from around the world and focusing on three themes: innovations in addressing long-standing occupational health and safety (OHS) challenges, implications of the changing world of work for OHS, and advancing a culture of prevention.

Cover image of At Work 104
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The Spring 2021 issue of At Work is out

In this issue, read about our joint study on claim suppression in British Columbia. Learn about the factors that raise injury risks for small workplaces, and find out what nine future of work trends may mean for workers already facing barriers to the labour market.

A group of people around a table, brainstorming
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Help design ways to support the future employment of young people with disabilities

Are you a young person living with a disabling health condition? Do you have direct experience supporting young people with disabilities? Or do you have expertise in policy, labour markets, disability and employment or strategic foresight?

If you answer yes to any of the above, we invite you to take part in an online activity aimed at designing better future work supports for young people with disabilities. For more information about this study, please contact Kay Nasir by emailing knasir@iwh.on.ca.

Silhouettes of construction workers against an orange sky
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Benefits outweigh costs when protection from UV radiation is offered to construction workers

Ultraviolet radiation due to sun exposure is one of the most common causes of work-related cancer in Ontario. A new study by IWH examines the costs and benefits of providing protective clothing and shade shelter to avert work-related non-melanoma skin cancer over 30 years.

tea light candles lit in the night
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Mark Day of Mourning on April 28

On April 28, we mark the Day of Mourning to remember people who are hurt or killed on the job. And this year again, it is an opportunity to pay tribute to essential workers who continue to provide the health care, goods and services we depend on, and to mourn those who have lost their lives or health to COVID-19 in the course of doing so. Let’s all take a moment on the day to resolve to do what we can to ensure the health and safety of all workers.