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
New business owners on why and how OHS starts to matter
Published: October 27, 2026
Research Highlights
Rises in opioid harms highest in machining, construction, sales
A new study has found that opioid harm rates have increased among injured workers over the last two decades. The study also breaks the trends down by occupation.
Published: October 14, 2026
Tools and guides
Guide to evaluating the effectiveness of strategies for preventing work injuries
This comprehensive guide lays out the methods behind rigorous effectiveness evaluations of workplace safety interventions—from determining the appropriate design and deciding who should be in your study sample, to measuring outcomes and going beyond quantitative methods.
Published: January 2001
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Occupational health and safety interventions with economic evaluations: a systematic review
Status: Completed 2007
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Effectiveness of training and education for the protection of workers: a systematic review
Status: Completed 2010
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Effectiveness of injury/illness prevention and loss control programs: a systematic review
Status: Completed 2007
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Effectiveness of occupational health and safety management systems: a systematic review
Status: Completed 2005
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Interventions in health-care settings to protect musculoskeletal health: a systematic review
Status: Completed 2006
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Workplace interventions to prevent musculoskeletal and visual symptoms and disorders among computer users: a systematic review
This systematic review evaluated the effects of workplace interventions on visual or upper body musculoskeletal symptoms and disorders among computer users. The goal was to provide scientifically credible evidence about how to reduce the health risks associated with computer work.
Status: Completed 2006
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