Document directory

QuickDecks are slides summarizing findings from systematic reviews on the treatment of back and neck pain in adults. The slides are based on reviews published in the Cochrane Library, and are compiled by Cochrane Back and Neck, housed at the Institute for Work & Health.

eOfficeErgo is an evidence-based and standard-compliant online training program designed for employees who regularly use computers on the job and would benefit from self-directed online training on the proper way to set up and work at office workstations in order to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and other injuries. 

A new case management system for delivering services to injured workers and employers in Ontario leads to improved return-to-work outcomes.

Study by IWH "points us in the right direction," says former WSIB exec.

IWH conference on experience rating and financial incentives helps shape review of claims suppression.

IWH opioid and chronic pain expert, Dr. Andrea Furlan, helps shape new rules in her role on drug advisory committee.

Brookfield Johnson Controls turns to the IWH-OPM after deciding to shift focus away from lagging indicators.

This Issue Briefing highlights findings from two reports by Prism Economics and Analysis—one for Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and the other for the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba—on the incidence and risk of claim suppression.

The Changing Nature of Work and the Workforce: The Institute for Work & Health's 2013 Annual Report

This report shares the findings from a study on the prevalence of poverty among permanently impaired injured workers across different time periods and receiving benefits from different legislative programs.

How are temporary work agencies organized to manage injury prevention and return to work in light of their non-standard organization? How can we better protect the workplace health of temporary work agency workers? This report shares the results of a study that aimed to answer these questions, focusing on job placements for unskilled and semi-skilled jobs by temporary agencies of all sizes.

Institute expertise tapped to evaluate agency's safety perception tool--and to provide a better alternative.

The toolkit, called Prevention is the Best Medicine, hopes to bridge the knowledge gap among newcomers of OHS and workers' compensation issues.

IWH evaluation of high risk firm program confirms need for a redesign.

To help stakeholders understand why needlestick injuries continue to occur in Ontario hospitals despite a regulation accelerate the adoption of safety-engineered needles, Institute for Work & Health researchers took a close look at the policies and practices of three acute-care hospitals in the province. This report documents their findings.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014 in partnership with Ontario’s health and safety associations to develop leading indicators of occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. This is the survey used in the study to test leading indicator measures.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014 that included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures. This benchmarking table allows organizations to compare their scores with organizations in Ontario's manufacturing subsectors.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014 in partnership with Ontario’s health and safety associations to develop leading indicators of occupational health and safety performance. The OLIP study included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures. This benchmarking table allows organizations to compare their scores with the aggregated scores of organizations in Ontario's health-care, education or municipal subsectors who completed the survey from 2011 to 2013.

Each of four case studies tells the story of an Ontario organization that achieved firm-level, sustained improvement in health and safety performance. Each illustrates the factors critical to making large improvement in health and safety, based upon an evidence-based model of breakthrough change developed through Institute for Work & Health research.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014. It included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures. This scorecard allows organizations to assess how well they are doing on each leading indicator measure according to their survey results.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014 that included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures. This benchmarking table allows organizations to compare their scores with organizations in Ontario's service subsectors.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014 that included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures. This benchmarking table allows organizations to compare their scores with all organizations in Ontario.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014 that included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures. This benchmarking table allows organizations to compare their scores with organizations in Ontario's agriculture subsector and pulp & paper sector.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014. The OLIP study included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures and a scorecard that allowed organizations to assess how well they were doing on each leading indicator measure. This document explains how scores were calculated.

A piloted training program was so successful it's now offered to all staff at this hospital and research centre.

Leading indicators have the potential to help identify factors affecting the risk of injury, allowing workplaces to address these factors before injuries occur. This Issue Briefing looks at efforts to date to identify OHS leading indicators and the challenges involved.

Vulnerable Workers: The Institute for Work & Health's 2012 Annual Report

In 2010, WorkSafeNB asked the Institute for Work and Health (IWH) to assess its Internal Responsibility System Questionnaire (IRSQ), a survey tool it had developed to measure safety culture within an organization. As part of its assessment, IWH compared the IRSQ with another previously validated tool designed to measure leading indicators, called the IWH Organizational Performance Metric (IWH-OPM). This document reports on the assessment of these two tools.

The Ontario Leading Indicators Project (OLIP) was a study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health from 2011-2014. It included a survey made up of five different leading indicator measures. These measures, and the items included in each, are described here.

This report describes the findings of a supplemental analysis of the adequacy of workers’ compensation earnings replacement benefits. The original analysis measured the adequacy of earnings replacement benefits for permanently disabled workers under two workers’ compensation benefit regimes in Ontario. The supplementary analysis ihcludes the contribution of Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPP-D) benefits to the assessment of the adequacy of wage replacement benefits.

Two important factors associated with how long Canadian female nurses stay off of work due to musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) are the level of pain and the extent to which pain interferes with job duties.

The Pain Recovery Inventory of Concerns and Expectations (PRICE), is a psychosocial screening questionnaire for workers with low-back pain that can estimate the overall likelihood of quickly recovering and returning to work within three months after injury.

The relationship between age and injury varies depending on the type of injury. Older workers, for example, are at higher risk of fractures and dislocations.

Return-to-work (RTW) models and policies can be improved by taking into account social relations within a work unit, especially the role of co-workers.

Research by IWH scientist describes problems with previous program and suggests way forward.

This Issue Briefing takes a close look at the design and outcomes of three North American studies and how they inform our understanding of the effectiveness of targeted labour inspections on occupational health and safety (OHS) outcomes.

Engagement: The Institute for Work & Health's 2011 Annual Report

Work on Canadian opioid guideline in turn leads to development of opioid management tool and helps launch IWH scientist's profile as opioid expert.

This systematic review set out to find what factors affect the length of time it takes before returning to work. The aim was to identify which workers with acute low-back pain are at high risk of long-term absences and, therefore, in need of extra attention to help them recover and return to work more quickly.

An IWH analysis helps lead to creation of specialized SIEF adjudication team at Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, resulting in millions in savings.

What happened to workers' compensation claim rates in Canada during the 2008-2009 recession? This Issue Briefing looks at the research and confirms that, relative to the long-term trend of declining claim rates in North America, the frequency of workers' compensation claims per hours worked tends to go down during recessions.

Three sets of pictograms depict musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) hazards and proper practices in three service sectors: retail, restaurant and greenhouses.

From September to November 2011, the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) consulted with its stakeholders in Ontario as the foundation for developing a strategic plan for the period 2013-2017. This report summarizes the results of that consultation and related survey.