Plain-language summaries
Institute for Work & Health (IWH) plain-language summaries condense research findings in various formats. At Work articles explain study results with comments from the study leads. Research Highlights summarize journal articles in easy-to-read, digest formats. Sharing Best Evidence summaries highlight findings from systematic reviews and other types of reviews conducted or led by IWH researchers. Issue Briefings discuss key research findings from IWH or elsewhere on topics that are of particular interest to policy-makers.
Issue Briefing
Workers' compensation and the business cycle
A worldwide recession has begun in the wake of the Fall 2008 meltdown of financial markets. What is the likely impact of the recession on workers’ compensation costs? Are work-related injuries likely to be more severe? What can we anticipate about claim frequency and severity when recovery occurs and economic growth resumes? This Issue Briefing explores findings from past research on workers’ compensation and the business cycle from IWH and other sources.
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Sharing Best Evidence
Do workplace programs protect upper extremity musculoskeletal health?
Injuries to the upper extremity are common among workers, accounting for about 30 per cent of lost-time claims in Ontario in 2006. The upper extremity includes the neck, shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand. This systematic review looked at the effectiveness of interventions to prevent upper extremity disorders and traumatic injuries.
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At Work article
New IWH senior scientist reaches out to policy-makers
Getting workplaces, health-care providers and public institutions to understand and adopt evidence-based practices has long been a priority of the Institute for Work & Health (IWH). Now, the IWH is strengthening its ties in particular with the policy-makers within these stakeholder groups
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At Work article
Preventing upper extremity MSDs: What works and what doesn’t
The strongest evidence to come out of a new systematic review from the Institute for Work & Health is that workstation adjustments alone have no effect in preventing upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. However, there are indications that adding ergonomics training to the mix may make a difference.
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At Work article
Tools you can use: A practical way to apply best evidence
The Institute for Work & Health is adding to its collection of user-friendly tools to help you make health, safety and return-to-work decisions based on the best scientific evidence.
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At Work article
Pilot program decreases duration and costs of workers’ comp claims
Organizational support to family physicians - including health services case managers to help coordinate care, improve communication with employers and reduce paperwork - can improve the delivery of health care to injured workers and lower costs. Dr. Thomas Wickizer explained how and why.
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At Work article
Small firms need OHS services tailored to their needs
When it comes to occupational health and safety (OHS), small businesses are not large firms on a smaller scale. They have unique features that affect their approach to workplace health and safety, and these features should be taken into account by OHS professionals and policy-makers when designing small-firm programs and services.
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Research Highlights
High nerve injury pain predicts upper extremity disability
Patients who seek medical help at least six months after an upper extremity nerve injury also report a considerable level of disability that is associated, in part, with chronic pain.
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Research Highlights
Heavy workloads linked to mental health, MSD treatment in health-care workers
What worker or workplace factors are linked to musculoskeletal or mental health problems among nurses and support staff? This study of 21,000 health-care workers points to heavy workloads among the most important factors.
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Research Highlights
Involving stakeholders helps research influence policy
Sears JM, Hogg-Johnson S
In 2004, Washington State enacted a three-year pilot program enabling nurse practitioners to work in an expanded role as “attending providers” for injured workers. Following an evaluation, the program was made permanent. This case-study-based research showed how involving stakeholders enhanced the impact of research on health policy.
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Research Highlights
Manufacturer saves money with participatory ergonomic program
Participatory ergonomic (PE) programs may be worth undertaking based on their financial merits — savings found not in fewer or shorter work-related injury absences but in shorter absences due to non-work injuries.
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Research Highlights
Co-workers play important, but sometimes “invisible” role in RTW
A small but important minority—14 per cent—of injured workers experience recurrent neck pain, accounting for 40 per cent of all lost-time days due to neck pain, according to a study of claims made to Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
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Research Highlights
Work factors affect off-the-job drinking habits
Work factors that affect job stress and job alienation can affect employee drinking behaviours off the job, study finds
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Research Highlights
An approach to developing a return-to-work program
Intervention mapping is a useful framework for developing customized return-to-work (RTW) programs that have been found to be more effective than non-tailored plans.
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Research Highlights
Examining OHS and workers’ compensation in non-profit organizations
While workers in non-profit organizations face a number of work-related hazards, a case study finds that provincial health and safety legislation across Canada is not always well-suited to this sector.
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Research Highlights
Orthopedic surgeons hold diverse views of chiropractors
In a survey of 500 orthopedic surgeons in Canada and the United States, just over half held a favourable or neutral view or chiropractors. The rest had a negative view.
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Research Highlights
Reducing work-related physical stresses to prevent MSDs
Workplace programs that aim to reduce stresses on the body – also known as mechanical exposure – are one way to prevent and reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), or soft-tissue injuries.
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Research Highlights
Workplace factors affect return-to-work accommodations
Workplace factors (such as firm size and union status) have greater influence than individual factors (such as health) on the likelihood that an injured worker will be offered and will accept modified work. The findings suggest more attention needs to be paid to workplace factors early in the return-to-work process.
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Research Highlights
Older, previously ill workers benefit most from RTW program
Steenstra I, Knol DL, Bongers PM, van Mechelen W, de Vet H
A workplace-based program that has workers and supervisors jointly identify and solve return-to-work barriers is found to be particularly effective in reducing absences among older workers and workers previously off work due to an illness.
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