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
Rates of work injuries have declined in Ontario, except the most severe
From 2004 to 2017, rates of work-related injuries requiring an emergency department visit declined in Ontario. But that overall downward trend was driven by injuries that were mild or moderate in severity. Rates of very severe injuries did not fall among men and even increased among women.
Published: July 12, 2024
Impact case study
Construction safety org adapts IWH research messages for tradesworker audience
A key program from Construction Health and Safety New Zealand—developed using IWH research—takes a participatory ergonomics approach to better prevent and manage musculoskeletal injuries among construction workers.
Published: February 28, 2024
Project
Project
Trends in the severity of work-related injury in Ontario
IWH is developing a method to classify the severity of work-related injuries presenting to hospital emergency departments.
Status: Ongoing
Journal article
Journal article
Implementation of participatory organizational change in long term care to improve safety
Published: Journal of Safety Research, September 2021
At Work article
What research can do: Partnering on a tool to estimate occupational risks of COVID
Public Health Ontario and Institute for Work & Health collaborate on a tool to estimate the occupational exposures that put workers at risk of COVID-19
Published: August 2021
At Work article
Inadequate employment standards, OHS vulnerability add to higher injury risks
IWH researchers found workers whose jobs fail to offer minimum employment standards are at an increased risk of work injury. When these workers also face health and safety vulnerability on the job, their risk of injury is even higher than the combined risk.
Published: August 2021
IWH in the media
Work-related skin cancer among construction workers set to double by 2060
Cases of work-related non-melanoma skin cancer among construction workers in Ontario are on track to double by 2060. However, according to new research done by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), if protective equipment and clothing such as long-sleeve shirts, pants and neck coverings are worn by construction workers, up to 6,034 cases of such cancers could be averted over the next three decades. That would result in $38 million in costs (in 2017 Canadian dollars) being saved over a 30-year period, Grant Cameron reports.
Published: Daily Commercial News, July 2021
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
What can hospital emergency records tell us about the incidence of work-related traumatic injuries in Ontario?
Every year, hospital emergency departments in Ontario treat an average of 100,000 cases of work-related injuries or illnesses. What can the records of these cases tell us about the reporting of work-related injuries and illnesses to Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)? In this presentation, Dr. Cameron Mustard shares findings from research comparing WSIB claims data with records of hospital emergency department visits over a fifteen-year period (2004-2017).
Published: June 2021
At Work article
Weaker OHS procedures, policies explain small employers’ higher injury risks: study
Workers at small firms are more exposed to hazards and report more work-related injuries and illnesses. But an IWH study finds injury risks in large and small firms even out when weaker OHS policies at small firms are accounted for.
Published: May 2021
At Work article
Costs of providing UV ray protection at job sites outweighed by averted skin cancers
Ultraviolet radiation due to sun exposure is one of the most common causes of work-related cancer in Ontario. A new study by IWH examines the costs and benefits of providing protective clothing and shade shelter to avert work-related skin cancer over 30 years.
Published: May 2021
IWH in the media
How does unionization make a difference with workplace safety?
The union safety effect is real — at least in Ontario’s major construction sector, writes John Dujay in reporting on research findings from IWH Scientist Dr. Lynda Robson
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, April 2021
Project report
Project report
Improving information on worker health protection in Ontario
This research study had the broad purpose of evaluating records of emergency department visits as a source of information for monitoring work-related injury and illness in Ontario. The primary objective of the study was to conduct a formal record linkage of emergency department records for the treatment of work-related injury and illness and workers’ compensation claims over the period 2004-2017. The main interest of this study is to describe the characteristics of the approximately 50,000 annual emergency department records for the treatment of a work-related injury or illness that do not link to a workers’ compensation claim.
Published: April 2021