Document directory

Physiotherapy use and costs to treat musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) at a large Ontario workplace increased substantially over a 10-year period. The potential exists for unequal access to physiotherapy services among workers not privately insured or covered by their workplaces.

Problematic interactions among health-care providers, injured workers and workers’ compensation boards may delay the return to work of injured workers with complicated claims. The result can be frustration, financial difficulties and mental health problems for injured workers.

Can a simple tool be developed that will predict a firm’s workplace injury experience based on an assessment of its health and safety policies and practices? This was the question that a team of partners within Ontario's occupational health and safety (OHS) system set out to answer, and it looks like the answer is “yes.” This report describes the team's work developing these potential OHS leading indicators.

From 1999 to 2007, the lost-time claim rate for young Ontario workers (ages 15 to 24) declined more steeply than the adult rate, and as a result the two rates are converging.

This point-of-care tool helps health-care providers safely and effectively manage their patients with chronic non-cancer pain, using prompts, checklists and charts to help determine the appropriate opioid prescription (if any).

This Issue Briefing draws attention to the policy challenge of coordinating and aligning both the goals and the administration of at least seven different disability income security programs in Canada.

Germany's social insurance authority regularly turns to systematic reviews from the Institute for Work & Health because of their quality and reliability.

Agency turns around rise of long-duration claims with a new model informed by IWH research.

Union awareness program draws on IWH research findings to target all new workers–not just workers who are young.

Community research project involving injured workers identifies stigmatizing attitudes as a problem.

IWH joins system partners in the creation of the MSD Prevention Guideline, an essential resource for province's enforcement efforts.

Institute scientists work with WSIB to provide ongoing evaluation of three important programs.

The Systematic Review Program: Solutions. The Institute for Work & Health's 2009 Annual Report

Shift work — employment with anything other than a regular daytime work schedule — makes up a large part of work in the Canadian economy. For at least 50 years, researchers have been exploring the question of whether working shifts poses a health hazard. This briefing summarizes the findings of a selection of this research, including several review articles.

The Occupational Health & Safety Council of Ontario (OHSCO) released its final report on system performance measurements. The report highlights trends of key performance indicators in the Ontario prevention system in 2008.

Report cites IWH research as important in identifying the need for change in WSIB's service delivery model.

This Issue Briefing provides a case study that compares the costs of the workers’ compensation scheme in the state of California with the cost of provincial workers’ compensation schemes in Canada. In California's system, compensation benefits are mainly provided through private insurers, while in Canada they are provided mostly through a single public agency in each province.

Occupational health and safety (OHS) training is an important part of managing workplace hazards and risks, but do they result in fewer work-related injuries and illnesses? This systematic review set out to determine whether OHS training and education programs have a beneficial effect for workers and workplaces.

Occupational health and safety (OHS) training is an important part of managing workplace hazards and risks. However, many OHS stakeholders want to know whether training can meet the goals of decreasing workplace injuries and illness, and whether the cost of training programs can be justified. This report shares the findings of systematic review to determine whether OHS training and education programs have a beneficial effect on workers and firms.

One size does not fit all. When it comes to occupational health and safety interventions, small businesses have needs that completely distinct from those of larger organizations.

Ergonomics training, exercise programs, alternative pointing devices and keyboards and so on. A broad range of workplace interventions are available to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the arm, hand, shoulder and neck. Which ones are effective?

Workers disabled by low-back pain can be grouped into three different groups: (1) those with workplace factors, (2) those with no workplace factors, but greater back pain, and (3) those with multiple factors.

Multi-component patient handling interventions can improve musculoskeletal health among health-care workers, including: a policy change at the worksite; implementation of new lift/transfer equipment; and broad-based training on the new equipment.

Health and safety interventions in small businesses can improve safety-related attitudes, behaviour and health. Evidence supports two intervention types: a combination of training and safety audits; and a combination of engineering controls, training, safety audits and rewards.

Agreeing on which treatments are most effective for treating neck pain is an ongoing challenge for the clinical community. From 1999-2007, an international group called the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders worked to bring some clarity. This guide summarizes its findings.

With a few exceptions, the characteristics of specific occupations do not influence the risk for suicide in Canada. For men, nine occupational groups have an elevated risk for suicide; for women, four occupational groups have an elevated risk.

This booklet contains evidence-based information, drawn from the research literature before 2010, on how people can live with short-term (acute) low-back pain. It contains reassuring advice about the course of typical back pain, as well as information on choosing the right treatment, what works and what doesn’t, and some common myths about back pain.

For long-term and costly workers’ compensation claims, researchers identified four contexts in the return-to-work process that contributed to problems. The risk of a “toxic dose” resulted when problems occurred across the different contexts.

There is strong evidence that ergonomic interventions result in positive financial returns for firms in the manufacturing and warehousing sector and moderate evidence for the administrative and support services and health-care sectors.

This software tool is designed for workplace OHS professionals and consultants to help them calculate the costs and benefits of workplace health and safety initiatives, as well as the costs of health and safety incidents. Economics training is not needed to use this tool because economic principles have been built into it.

Although young males have typically had higher work-related injury rates than older ones, this trend has changed in some parts of Canada, where young men now have rates similar to those of older men. This Issue Briefing presents a detailed breakdown of workplace injury rates for men and women in three provinces over time, and suggests potential reasons for the trends.

Research by IWH team confirms for Manitoba the need to increase OHS awareness among newcomers.

Knowledge exchanges across the prevention system helps research findings reach front-line consultants and shape service delivery model.

Researchers have been looking at how unemployment affects mental health since the Great Depression of the 1930s, if not earlier. This body of research has shown that becoming unemployed has a negative impact on mental health. Also, people with mental health problems are more likely than others to become unemployed. This Issue Briefing summarizes the key research behind these findings and explores the implications for policy-makers and health and safety service providers.

Impact. The Institute for Work & Health's 2008 Annual Report

Research is emerging that “newness” is associated with a higher risk of work injury. Whether it’s young workers, workers of all ages new to their jobs, recent immigrants or employees in newly established firms, the evidence indicates that these workers face higher injury rates and/or more hazardous jobs. This Issue Briefing summarizes the key research behind these findings and explores the implications for policy-makers and health and safety service providers.

This report from the Institute for Work and Health and the Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres looks at work injuries and health and safety knowledge among a high-risk group of workers: young people aged 15 to 24 who are out of school, especially those with less than a high school diploma.

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.

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.

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.

This booklet outlines six key steps that have been shown in the research to contribute to the success of a participatory ergonomics program, based on a systematic review by IWH researchers.

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.

This evidence-based guide addresses the warning signs (red flags) of a potentially complicated recovery and return to work, as well as the helpful practices (green lights) that can help ensure the recovery and return go smoothly.

Interventions against sexual harassment at work should prioritize precarious work situations, particularly in the service sector, study suggests.

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.

There is a lack of high quality evidence to support the use of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy to speed the healing of broken bones, although overall results appear promising.

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.