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
At Work article
Differences in firm-level AI use for health and safety
To what extent are Canadian workplaces using artificial intelligence (AI) to help support workers’ health and safety? And what do these workplaces have in common? An IWH study surveyed firms across Ontario and British Columbia to find out.
Published: October 8, 2025
Impact case study
Saskatchewan’s construction safety group uses IWH tool to improve safety culture
This case study details how the Saskatchewan Construction Safety Association (SCSA) members have been analyzing IWH-OPM scores to adjust their safety practices and how SCSA has been using the data to tailor their outreach.
Published: February 10, 2025
Project
Project
Implementation of workplace violence legislation in Ontario hospitals
IWH researchers sought to find out what helps and what hinders the successful implementation of legislated workplace violence prevention measures in Ontario’s acute-care hospitals.
Status: Completed 2017
Project
Project
Determinants of health and safety in unionized and non-unionized firms in Ontario’s construction sector
According to previous findings from IWH, unionized construction firms have fewer lost-time, critical and musculoskeletal workers’ compensation claims than non-unionized ones. Do differing workplace policies and practices in unionized firms account for this. An IWH team sought to answer the question.
Status: Completed 2017
Tools and guides
OHS Vulnerability Measure
This tool assesses the extent to which a worker may be vulnerable to occupational health and safety (OHS) risks at work in four areas: hazard exposure; workplace policies and procedures; worker awareness of hazards and OHS rights and responsibilities; and worker empowerment to participate in injury and illness prevention.
Published: January 2016
Project
Project
Evaluating the implementation of a participatory organizational change intervention in long-term care
The Public Services Health & Safety Association’s EPIC (Employees Participating in Change) program aims to reduce musculoskeletal disorders and slip, trip and fall injuries in the long-term care sector. IWH is evaluating the implementation and effects of this organizational-level participatory ergonomics program.
Status: Completed 2019
Project
Project
Incidence of work-related aggression and violence in Canada
To effectively deal with workplace violence in Canada, we need to know how often it occurs, who is at highest risk, and if risk differs depending on work context or time of day. This project helped find these answers.
Status: Completed 2017
Project
Project
Central nervous system agents and the risk of workplace injury and death: a systematic review
IWH is leading a systematic review to determine the level and quality of research evidence on the association between workers’ use of agents that act on the central nervous system (e.g. opioids, cannabis) and the risk of workplace injury, reinjury, near misses and death, including outcomes affecting co-workers and others in the immediate workplace.
Status: Completed 2019
Tools and guides
IWH Organizational Performance Metric
This evidence-based, eight-item questionnaire helps organizations assess and improve their health and safety performance by indicating where improvements might be made to health and safety policies and practices in order to prevent injuries or illnesses from occurring.
Published: January 2016
Impact case study
IWH leading indicator tool wins over advocates across Canada
The eight-item IWH-OPM is used in several provinces to strengthen safety performance in workplaces.
Published: December 2015
Impact case study
Ontario prevention system shifts risk-of-injury emphasis from “young workers” to “new workers”
New workers are in the spotlight after IWH research show workers are at much greater risk of injury in the first month of the job.
Published: December 2015
At Work article
Distinct types of OHS vulnerability seen in young, temporary, small business employees
A tool developed by IWH measures three types of vulnerability to workplace health and safety risk.
Published: November 2015