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.

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Video

Participatory approach to health and safety in long-term care

Involve front-line staff when identifying and controlling hazards at long-term care homes. Those who do a job every day know the associated hazards best. A participatory approach can help prevent injuries.
Published: October 2, 2019
Members of a hospital committee listen to presentation by female health care worker
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
Journal article
Journal article

Examining risk of workplace violence in Canada: a sex/gender-based analysis

Published: Annals of Work Exposures and Health, July 2018
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Reporting and consequences of workplace violence in six Ontario hospitals

We currently do not know what proportion of workplace violence incidents in Ontario are captured by each hospital’s reporting system. We also lack information on reasons for not reporting workplace violence incidents. Dr. Peter Smith of the Institute for Work & Health provides findings from a survey in late 2017 of over 1,000 workers in six Ontario hospitals on the incidence, reporting and consequences of workplace violence. He also discusses the implications of these findings on the interpretation of Ontario's new mandatory indicator of workplace violence.
Published: May 2018
A nurse sits in deserted hospital hallway, looking worried
At Work article

Violence prevention efforts face challenges despite commitment from hospital leaders

There has been a cultural shift in recent years when it comes to violence and aggression toward health-care workers. But despite commitment among hospital leadership to tackle the problems, prevention efforts still face several common challenges on the ground.
Published: April 2018
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Towards a better understanding of differences in the risk of workplace violence for men and women in Canada

Workplace violence is getting increasing attention, especially within certain industries such as health care and education. This presentation will discuss results from two recently completed studies examining differences in the risk of workplace violence for men and women.
Published: March 2018
Project report
Project report

Implementing violence prevention legislation in hospitals: final report

This report details the findings of an Institute for Work & Health study that looked at acute-care hospitals in Ontario and how they implemented legislated violence prevention initiatives, to what effect, and the challenges they faced along the way.
Published: February 2018
Project report
Project report

Implementing violence prevention legislation in hospitals: summary

This two-page summary shares the highlights of an Institute for Work & Health study that looked at acute-care hospitals in Ontario and how they implemented legislated violence prevention initiatives, to what effect, and the challenges they faced along the way.
Published: December 2017