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
Consultants play key role in OHS implementation at small firms
An IWH study of small businesses that took part in Ontario's Health and Safety Excellence Program highlights the key factors that contribute their success in the program.
Published: November 8, 2024
At Work article
Higher risk of work injuries found among those in precarious jobs: IWH study
Workers in jobs likely to be precarious are more likely to experience a work-related injury or illness in Ontario, including COVID-19. That’s according to a pair of studies that examined whether employment conditions are linked to the rate of work injuries.
Published: September 12, 2024
Project report
Project report
Musculoskeletal injury (MSI) prevention: a practical implementation resource for Newfoundland and Labrador (NL)
Published: June 2020
At Work article
What research can do: How IWH research is responding to COVID-19
COVID-19 affects the work and health of people in Canada and around the world in vastly different ways. Research on the experiences of workers, and the effects of the pandemic on their health, is essential. Here's how IWH researchers are responding.
Published: May 2020
At Work article
Supporting settlement agencies to raise OHS awareness among newcomers
Newcomers to Canada face a higher risk of workplace injury and illness, due in part to a lack of knowledge about their OHS rights and responsibilities. Settlement agencies can help raise this awareness, but they also need support from the prevention system to do so, according to a recent project.
Published: April 2020
IWH in the media
Understanding challenges in hospitals' workplace violence reporting systems
To address workplace violence, we need to understand the size of the problem. That requires having reporting systems that collect reliable and valid indicators of of workplace events, consistently over time and across workplaces. This is not easy, writes IWH's Dr. Peter Smith, drawing on two studies about reporting patterns and challenges at Ontario's hospitals.
Published: Contact, April 2020
Research Highlights
Exploring the health and safety risks facing ride-share drivers
Ride-share drivers face physical and mental health risks that are not only similar to, but also distinct from, those of taxi drivers. Beyond the risks experienced by taxi drivers, ride-share drivers face stressors unique to this form of work.
Published: March 2020
At Work article
Can an eight-item questionnaire pick up on real-world differences in OHS practice?
How well can a set of eight questions capture something as broad and multi-faceted as an organization’s OHS policies and practices? An IWH study examines practices and policies at organizations that had completed the IWH-OPM. It finds consistent patterns in how high- and medium-scorers approach OHS.
Published: February 2020
IWH in the media
Workplace violence solutions for schools central to recent ETFO symposium
Participants from across Canada came together to discuss the most urgent health and safety concern facing education workers today—growing violence and harassment in schools. At the symposium, IWH Scientific Co-Director & Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith spoke of data showing the rise in workplace violence in Ontario is mainly experienced by women in the education sector.
Published: Workers Health & Safety Centre, February 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Examining the impact of occupational health and safety vulnerability on injury claim reporting in three Canadian provinces
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, February 2020
At Work article
Estimating the societal costs of work injuries and illnesses in five EU countries
To help European Union countries set priorities and analyze potential benefits of tackling work-related hazards, an IWH team developed and implemented a new method for estimating the societal costs of work injuries and illnesses.
Published: January 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Understanding the organizational performance metric, an occupational health and safety management tool, through workplace case studies
Published: International Journal of Workplace Health Management, January 2020