1. Selected topics

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

A landscape worker cutting grass.
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
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
A young female engineer on a construction site is reviewing a document
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
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
Young workers at service counter
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
Group of executives meet in boardroom
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
A young man cuts wood at a saw table
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
Two ironworkers walking on steel beams against a blue sky
At Work article

IWH study in construction sector suggests unionized firms are safer

First industry-wide study in Ontario by Institute for Work & Health finds unionized construction workers report more claims overall but fewer claims that result in time off work.
Published: November 2015
Project report
Project report

Economic burden of lung cancer and mesothelioma in Canada due to occupational asbestos exposure (2015)

This November 2015 presentation provides an early look at the results of an economic burden study on the costs to Canadian society of new cases of lung cancers and mesothelioma attributable to occupational asbestos exposures in a particular year.
Published: November 2015