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
Journal article
Journal article
Changes in opioid prescribing behaviors among family physicians who participated in a weekly tele-mentoring program
Published: Journal of Clinical Medicine, December 2019
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Supporting hospital staff to manage aggressive patient behaviour: A randomized controlled trial
As in many other hospitals, staff at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital were experiencing high rates of workplace violence. In response, a multidisciplinary team developed a program to standardize practices for identifying and managing patients with aggressive behaviour. Given the dearth of evaluation studies on this type of workplace intervention, the team also set up a randomized controlled study on the program's effectiveness. They share results in this IWH Speaker Series presentation.
Published: November 2019
Video
Video
Participatory approach to health and safety in long-term care
Long-term care homes are high-risk environments, and strategies to reduce workplace injuries are essential to protecting long-term care workers and the quality of care provided to residents. This video whiteboard explains why and how a participatory approach to injury prevention can help prevent injuries by involving front-line staff in the identification and control of workplace hazards.
Published: October 2019
IWH in the media
As teachers report more violent incidents in schools, boards struggle
In school boards across Canada, more educators say they’re being hurt on the job, according to data reviewed by The Globe and Mail. But there are gaps in data collection, and debates over the reasons for the rise in reports of violence, writes Carolyn Alphonso, citing IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith.
Published: The Globe and Mail, September 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Ontario chiropractor's knowledge of exercise guidelines for pregnant patients
Published: Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, April 2019
IWH in the media
Women four times more likely to experience sexual assault at work
Violence-related injuries at work are on the rise across Canada and this is especially the case for women, according to two recent studies conducted at the not-for-profit Institute for Work and Health, writes IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith.
Published: The Conversation, January 2019
Project
Project
Getting the message right: strengthening RTW communication in B.C.'s health-care sector
Status: Completed 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Gender differences in injuries attributed to workplace violence in Ontario 2002-2015
Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, January 2019
News release
News release
Risk of workplace violence increasing among women in Ontario’s education sector
Published: August 2018
At Work article
Collaborative return-to-work program helps hospital lower injury claims, duration: study
An Ontario acute-care hospital and its unions set out to tackle high injury and disability claims rates by developing a collaborative return-to-work program. And according to an IWH implementation study, the results are promising.
Published: July 2018