Research Highlights
Research Highlights is an easy-to-read, lay-audience summary of a study led by a scientist from the Institute for Work & Health (or includes an Institute scientist on its research team) that has been published in a respected, peer-reviewed journal. Each research summary explains why the study was done, how it was done, what the researchers found and the implications of the study, where applicable.
How do OHS leaders use health and safety benchmarking?
Workplace health and safety leaders use benchmarking reports on health and safety performance to help inform decision-making and improve occupational health and safety performance. That's according to an interview-based study of OHS leaders who took part in an IWH leading indicators research project.
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Understanding the types of Ontario workplaces that offer both wellness and OHS programs
Most Ontario workplaces offer few wellness initiatives. The ones that offer a variety of wellness initiatives and have high-performing OHS programs tend to be large workplaces with people-oriented cultures.
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Examining the link between working conditions and tobacco-smoking habits
People who work or have worked in physically demanding jobs are about twice as likely as people whose jobs are not physically demanding to be heavy smokers. Workers in jobs with low social support, low skill discretion and high psychological demands are also more likely than workers in healthier environments to be heavy smokers.
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Psychosocial work conditions and mental health
Having positive mental health is not the same as having no mental illness. The two are related, but distinct, concepts. A study by IWH suggests that better psychosocial work conditions—greater job security, job control and social support—can have greater influence on one more than the other.
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Gender differences in the impact of eldercare on work
Women are much more likely than men to stop working, to work part time and to temporarily take time off work in order to care for an older relative. These differences are seen even after taking into account factors such as marital status, having children, hours of work, pay level, job tenure, and status as main wage earner in the household.
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Facilities near or at work and off-hours exercise levels
Three in four working Canadians have access near or at their work to a gym, a sports field, a pleasant place to walk, a fitness program, an organized sports team, a health promotion program or a shower/change room. Leisure-time exercise levels are highest for workers with access to all the above. They are twice as likely to exercise in their off-hours as workers with access to none of these.
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OHS vulnerability among new immigrants
Recent immigrant workers are 1.6 times more likely than Canadian-born workers to experience occupational health and safety (OHS) vulnerability, defined as exposure to hazards without adequate protection to mitigate those hazards.
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How workplace support needs differ for younger and older adults with chronic disease
When it comes to workplace supports, people with chronic disease have similar needs, even at different ages and career stages. However, young people face unique challenges related to accessing workplace supports, including a lack of available workplace resources and difficulty overcoming preconceptions around youth and chronic conditions.
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Gender differences in the link between psychosocial work exposures and stress
Women’s and men's stress levels are affected differently by psychosocial work exposures such as supervisor or co-worker support, job control, job demand and job insecurity.
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Prolonged standing on the job associated with higher risk of heart disease than prolonged sitting
Workers who predominantly stand on the job are at greater risk of heart disease than workers who predominantly sit. Workplace prevention efforts should target excessive standing, as well as excessive sitting, to protect the cardiovascular health of workers.
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Workers with disabilities report greater OHS vulnerability
Workers with disabilities are more likely to be exposed to hazards at work than other workers, and are more likely to experience vulnerability due to inadequate measures to mitigate those hazards.
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Role of chronic conditions and physical job demands on differences in work activity limitations between women and men
The differing levels of work activity limitations among women and men are explained by the different chronic conditions they are likely to have and the different physical demands they are likely to face on the job.
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Workplaces that focus on both operations and safety can succeed at both
Workplaces that jointly manage operations and occupational health and safety (OHS) perform well at both, and no worse than workplaces that focus on only one. There’s no evidence that success in operations requires a trade-off with safety.
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Are older workers off work longer after an injury because of the nature of their injuries?
Older men and women with work-related injuries remain off work on benefits longer than other workers, and this longer time off work is not explained by the type or severity of their injuries.
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The relationship between age and risk of work injury in B.C.
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.
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Pain and long-term absences among Canadian nurses with MSIs
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.
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The role of co-workers in return to work
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.
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Development of a brief psychosocial screening instrument for people with low-back pain
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.
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Changing work conditions in three provinces
A study examining changes in work conditions in three provinces between 1994 and 2003-2005 finds lower levels of job satisfaction, lower levels of decision authority and co-worker support, and higher likelihood of rotating shifts and long hours.
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Changes in physiotherapy use for MSDs highlight inequality of access
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.
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