Illness/injury prevention

IWH has a long history of conducting research to provide practical guidance to employers, workers, OHS professionals and regulators about what works and what doesn’t in injury or illness prevention. This research targets the injury and illness prevention practices of workplaces, as well as the programs developed by governments, health and safety associations and others to support and motivate workplaces to adopt effective practices.

Featured

IWH Speaker Series

How new businesses get their start in workplace health and safety: implications for research and policy

Published: April 21, 2026

At Work article

IWH study reveals gaps in health and safety knowledge about new businesses

To best prevent injuries, OHS management in small businesses should start early in their lifecycle. But according to a new IWH study, few programs or policies are specifically aimed at helping new businesses start managing OHS.

Published: April 10, 2026

Sign on asbestos remove site warning of cancer and lung disease hazard due to asbestos exposure

Impact case study

IWH research raises awareness of the economic burden of asbestos-related disease as Canada commits to ban

An IWH study estimating the lifetime cost of newly diagnosed cases of mesothelioma and lung cancer due to work-related asbestos exposures in a single year garnered much media and public interest, and was cited by Canadian government in its analysis of the impact of its regulation banning asbestos.

Published: March 2018

At Work article

Newcomers often lack OHS protection and information in their precarious first jobs

They face difficulty finding work, due to language barriers, foreign credentials or lack of Canadian experience. Their first jobs are precarious, sometimes unpaid. To top it off, they receive next to no training on OHS and employment standards issues, as a new IWH study has found.

Published: February 2018

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

IWH in the media

New immigrants vulnerable to workplace accidents

New arrivals in Canada face additional vulnerabilities on the job, according to studies by Institute for Work and Health (IWH) in Toronto, writes Ian Harvey.

Published: Daily Commercial News, January 2018

IWH in the media

Marijuana in the workplace: What is unsafe?

The federal government’s commitment to legalize recreational marijuana by July 1, 2018 raises occupational health and safety concerns for many employers. At the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), we have been reviewing the effects of various drugs that act on the central nervous system — including marijuana — on workplace injuries, deaths and near-misses, write IWH's Dr. Andrea Furlan and Dr. Nancy Carnide. What is striking is how little high-quality evidence there is on the impacts of marijuana in the workplace and how inconsistent the existing data is.

Published: The Conversation, January 2018

Journal article

Examining occupational health and safety vulnerability among Canadian workers with disabilities

Published: Disability and Rehabilitation, January 2018

Project

Improving information on the incidence of work-related injuries and illnesses in Ontario

Status: Completed 2021

Project

Costs of work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths in the European Union

Status: Completed 2019

Journal article

Effectiveness of workplace interventions in return-to-work for musculoskeletal, pain-related and mental health conditions: an update of the evidence and messages for practitioners

Published: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, January 2018

Workers of various ethnicities pose happily with their work team