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.

At Work article
What research can do: Partnering on a tool to estimate occupational risks of COVID
Public Health Ontario and Institute for Work & Health collaborate to answer emerging research questions
Published:

At Work article
Inadequate employment standards, OHS vulnerability add to higher injury risks
IWH study finds injury risks increased five-fold when both types of work vulnerability were present
Published:

At Work article
Emerging evidence points to negative health effects of physical work demands
Findings on ‘physical activity paradox’ suggest need for more warm-ups, work breaks for labourers: scientist
Published:

At Work article
COVID worries highest among workers with both physical, mental health disabilities
Greater concerns among workers with disabilities stem from their work conditions, not disability status
Published:

At Work article
Unemployment benefits linked to lower mortality rates over 10 years: IWH study
Study finds jobless people with income support have 25 per cent lower death rates than those without
Published:

At Work article
Claim suppression study in B.C. finds under-claiming of work injury to be common
Joint study by Institute for Work & Health and Prism Economics and Analysis also finds employer pressure, inducement not to claim seen in four to 13 per cent of work injuries
Published:

At Work article
Education, type of work lessen pandemic job loss in youths with rheumatic diseases
Follow-up study finds employment dropped by 72 per cent when all factors are taken into account
Published:

At Work article
Weaker OHS procedures, policies explain small employers’ higher injury risks: study
No difference in injury risks between large, small firms once OHS policies, procedures accounted for
Published:

Issue Briefing
Nature and extent of claim suppression in B.C.’s workers’ compensation system
The Institute for Work & Health collaborated with Prism Economics and Analysis to conduct a study for WorkSafeBC on claim suppression in British Columbia. This Issue Briefing summarizes the findings of this study and compares them with the findings of previous Institute studies on claim suppression in Manitoba and Ontario, as well as with the findings of other research in Canada.
Published:

At Work article
Costs of providing UV ray protection at job sites outweighed by averted skin cancers
IWH economic analysis in Ontario finds net gain over 30 years when protective clothing, shade structures used to reduce skin cancer risk in construction workers
Published:

Research Highlights
Examining the link between leisure-time exercise and physically demanding work on diabetes risk
Workers in sedentary jobs who meet physical activity guidelines of at least 150 minutes a week have a 37 per cent lower chance of developing diabetes over 15 years, compared to people in the same types of jobs but who do less exercise. Meeting physical activity guidelines is less beneficial for people whose jobs involve movement or high physical demands (such as lifting heavy loads).
Published:

At Work article
Nine trends that will likely shape future of work for groups of vulnerable workers
IWH research team conducts ‘horizon scan’ to identify major changes to come, and what they may mean for people currently facing labour market barriers
Published:

At Work article
Having depression leads to lower earnings over 10 years: study
Study by IWH researcher finds 10-year earning loss amounts to $115,000 for men and $71,000 for women
Published:

At Work article
What research can do: Workplace COVID outbreaks reported by Ontario public health account for one in 20 cases in working-age adults
Figure of five per cent attributed to workplace outbreaks does not include outbreak-related cases in health-care, congregate living, education and recreation settings
Published:

At Work article
Precarity more likely for older, new workers with disabilities
Higher likelihood of precarity in older workers with disabilities somewhat of a surprise, says study lead
Published:

At Work article
At-work cannabis use linked to work factors, including some not expected: IWH study
Work characteristics linked to on-the-job consumption include lower job visibility, less chance of detection but also safety-sensitive or supervisory roles
Published:

Research Highlights
Is precarious work more prevalent for people with disabilities? The role of age and job tenure
Workers with disabilities are no more likely than those without to work in precarious jobs. However, some subsets of people with disabilities are more likely to work in precarious jobs—older people or people with shorter job tenure. Contrary to expectation, younger people with disabilities are not more likely than older people with disabilities to have precarious jobs. Among people with and without disabilities, having better health is linked to a lower likelihood of working in precarious jobs.
Published:

At Work article
People’s reasons for disclosing episodic disabilities linked to support they receive
IWH study examines the link between reasons for disclosing health conditions and outcomes of disclosure
Published:

Issue Briefing
Incidence of COVID-19 transmission in Ontario workplaces
As the incidence of diagnosed cases escalates in the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, it is important to understand the degree to which employment in the essential service sectors represents an increased risk of infection. This Issue Briefing examines what the available data says about the role of workplaces in COVID-19 transmission in Ontario, the relative contribution of workplace outbreaks to case numbers, and current information gaps at the population level.
Published:

At Work article
Union firms have lower lost-time claim rates, study in ICI construction confirms
Study update by Institute for Work & Health backs up 2015 findings of ‘union safety effect’ in Ontario’s industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) construction sector
Published: