Health-care sector
IWH research that specifically involves health-care workplaces, workers, unions, employers and/or associations, as well as research on programs that specifically target the health-care sector, is collected together here. Not included here is IWH research that cuts across all or many sectors, even though it may be relevant to the health-care sector. For this reason, visitors are encouraged to explore beyond this page to find equally important information on the prevention of work injury and disability in health care.
Featured
Research Highlights
Primary care physicians’ learning needs in returning ill or injured workers to work
While primary care physicians play an important role in helping ill and injured workers return to work (RTW), they have a variety of learning needs about how to best navigate the RTW process. These needs fall in the areas of completing administrative tasks, challenging personal beliefs, understandin
Published: July 26, 2023
IWH Speaker Series
More than just COVID-19 prevention: Exploring the links between PPE, safe work protocols and workers' mental health
Published: November 10, 2020
At Work article
Understanding challenges in hospitals’ workplace violence reporting systems
How consistently and reliably are hospital violence incidents reported in Ontario? An IWH research team surveyed workers at six hospitals in the province in 2017. Despite mandatory reporting, the results showed great variation in reporting patterns.
Published: August 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Assessing adverse events after chiropractic care at a chiropractic teaching clinic: an active-surveillance pilot study
Published: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, August 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Few fragility fracture patients perceive that their bone health is affected by their comorbidities and medications
Published: Osteoporosis International, June 2020
IWH in the media
Lack of PPE related to healthcare workers’ anxiety, depression: report
Sixty per cent of health-care workers in Canada reported anxiety at levels surpassing an accepted threshold for clinical screening for the condition. This is most prevalent among those whose needs for personal protective equipment have not been met, Jim Wilson reports on a study by Institute for Work & Health and the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers.
Published: Canadian Occupational Safety, June 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Factors associated with screening positive for high falls risk in fragility fracture patients: a cross-sectional study
Published: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, June 2020
At Work article
Anxiety levels among health-care workers during COVID-19 linked to inadequate PPE
Nearly six in 10 surveyed health-care workers in Canada reported anxiety levels surpassing an accepted threshold for clinical screening for the condition. Workers who reported more unmet PPE needs also reported higher levels of anxiety, according to a study by OHCOW.
Published: May 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Early high-risk opioid prescribing practices and long-term disability among injured workers in Washington State, 2002-2013
Published: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, May 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Physical activity perceptions, experiences, and beliefs of older adults with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease and their care partners
Published: Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, May 2020
IWH in the media
Understanding challenges in hospitals' workplace violence reporting systems
To address workplace violence, we need to understand the size of the problem. That requires having reporting systems that collect reliable and valid indicators of of workplace events, consistently over time and across workplaces. This is not easy, writes IWH's Dr. Peter Smith, drawing on two studies about reporting patterns and challenges at Ontario's hospitals.
Published: Contact, April 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Adherence to predefined dietary patterns and risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the Canadian adult population
Published: Canadian Journal of Diabetes, March 2020