Health practice and management
Health-care providers and health-care services play an important part in the return to work (RTW) of injured workers and in disability management processes at workers’ compensation boards in Canada. IWH research supports front-line health-care practitioners—including primary care physicians and allied health-care professionals, who support or treat workers with injuries and illnesses that affect their ability to work.
Featured
Impact case study
Dorcas Beaton: How a passion for MSD outcome measures made a difference in the world of work and beyond
Sometimes, an IWH scientist’s work impacts go beyond the work and health field. That is the case for Dr. Dorcas Beaton, retired IWH senior scientist whose expertise developed through work and health research spread to the broader field of clinical health outcomes.
Published: August 7, 2026
At Work article
PTSI treatment program delivers benefits for first responders, but no change in return-to-work rates
First responders face high rates of post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) due to the nature of their jobs. In response, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board commissioned an intensive, 14-week program treatment program tailored to these workers, which has undergone a multi-part evaluation.
Published: March 9, 2026
Journal article
Journal article
Increasing uptake through collaboration in the development of core outcome sets: lessons learned at OMERACT 2023
Published: Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, March 2024
Journal article
Journal article
Core outcome set developers should consider and specify the level of granularity of outcome domains
Published: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, February 2024
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, understanding specific RTW issues and learning about available RTW services and tools.
Published: July 2023
Project
Project
ECHO PSP: Piloting the use of the ECHO model to promote recovery and return-to-work among public safety personnel in Ontario
This pilot project is evaluating the use of the ECHO model in Ontario to improve return-to-work support for injured firefighters, paramedics, police officers and other public safety personnel.
Status: Ongoing
Project
Project
First Responder Mental Health Treatment Services: Formative evaluation of a pilot program
IWH is collaborating with the Institute for Better Health to evaluate a WSIB pilot program treating first responders with work-related mental health injuries.
Status: Ongoing
Journal article
Journal article
Primary care physicians' learning needs in returning ill or injured workers to work. A scoping review
Published: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, May 2022
Project
Project
Project ECHO Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM): Implementation, evaluation and a pilot study of a new clinical tool
IWH is piloting a telementoring program in which a multidisciplinary team of health-care experts uses video conferencing to connect with primary healthcare providers in remote Ontario communities to help them better manage patients with complex work-related injuries and diseases or environmental exposures.
Status: Completed 2022
Research Highlights
Examining communication and collaboration barriers among health and case management professionals
Communication barriers between health-care providers and case managers appear to stem from differences in communication styles, professional priorities and philosophical perspectives about the timing and appropriateness of return to work. Barriers exist even among practitioners of different health disciplines.
Published: March 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Perceived role and expectations of health care providers in return to work
Published: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, March 2019
Journal article
Journal article
What are physicians told about their role in return to work and workers' compensation systems? An analysis of Canadian resources
Published: Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, October 2018