COVID-19
COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. In short order, the world of work changed dramatically in Canada. Non-essential businesses were locked down. Some workers lost their jobs; others were sent home to work. Essential businesses kept going. Despite protections, workers in sectors ranging from health care to transportation to food production and retail faced risk of infection, illness and even death. IWH researchers are looking at the impact of the pandemic on workers and workplaces, and what it means going forward.
Featured
At Work article
What can work-related COVID-19 cases tell us about how to prepare for the next pandemic?
A new study by IWH combined data sources to estimate work-related COVID-19 infection rates, using a method that took into account major shifts in where people worked.
Published: February 6, 2024
At Work article
Study of educators during pandemic found psychosocial conditions worse for those teaching online
In the fall of 2020, Ontario educators who taught in a virtual environment felt isolated and unsupported, while those working in-person experienced anxiety related to the risk of COVID transmission. That’s according a study of Ontario teachers, conducted by OHCOW and IWH.
Published: October 5, 2022
Journal article
Journal article
Depression, anxiety and stress among Swedish university students during the second and third waves of COVID-19: a cohort study
Published: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, November 2021
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Workplace COVID-19 protections and transmission: Findings from population-level data in Canada
From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health strategies to reduce the spread of the coronavirus recognized workplaces as a potential site of transmission. However, there remain large information gaps about workplace COVID-19 protection practices and COVID-19 transmission at work. In this presentation, Dr. Peter Smith shares findings from two recently completed studies from a collaboration between the Institute for Work & Health and Public Health Ontario. The first describes the type and prevalence of infection control practices at work sites that continued to operate. The second study estimates rates of COVID-19 cases due to workplace outbreaks across industry groups in Ontario between April 2020 and March 2021.
Published: October 2021
Journal article
Journal article
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of nurses in British Columbia, Canada using trends analysis across three time points
Published: Annals of Epidemiology, October 2021
Journal article
Journal article
Palliative care for people who use substances during communicable disease epidemics and pandemics: a scoping review protocol
Published: BMJ Open, October 2021
Issue Briefing
Response to COVID-19: Gathering experiences of OHS authorities in developed countries
In early 2021, a group of researchers led by IWH President Dr. Cameron Mustard asked authorities responsible for occupational health and safety (OHS) in developed countries how they had, to date, addressed the COVID-19 challenge. This Issue Briefing shares what the researchers learned.
Published: August 2021
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 on a tool to estimate the occupational exposures that put workers at risk of COVID-19
Published: August 2021
Journal article
Journal article
Social inequalities in protective behaviour uptake at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a national survey
Published: Canadian Journal of Public Health, August 2021
At Work article
COVID worries highest among workers with both physical, mental health disabilities
People with both physical and mental health disabilities were the most concerned about their work, health and finances during the early part of the pandemic.
Published: July 2021
IWH in the media
Re-opening the economy should include access for young people with chronic disease
Young workers who are immunocompromised will need employers to continue to enforce COVID-19-prevention strategies. And paid sick leave will remain a priority to prevent workers from coming to work with COVID-19 symptoms, writes IWH's Dr. Arif Jetha in an op-ed.
Published: The Province, June 2021
Journal article
Journal article
An umbrella review of the work and health impacts of working in an epidemic/pandemic environment
Published: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, June 2021