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

Graphic of workers in front of a conveyor belt wearing safety gear, a robot holds a clipboard.
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
A group of construction workers
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
A roomful of people listen intently to workshop presenter
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
Canadian Society of Safety Engineers logo
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
A young man behind the wheel of a car checks his smartphone
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
A hard hat, placed next to a check list, against a black background
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
Workers Health & Safety Centre logo
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
Close-up of Euro bill and map of Europe
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
Workers of various ethnicities pose happily with their work team
Tools and guides

Safe Work Toolkit for Newcomers (Ontario)

This toolkit contains everything needed to deliver instructional sessions to newcomers in Ontario on their occupational health and safety (OHS) and workers' compensation rights and responsibilities.
Published: December 2019
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series

Estimating the economic burden of work injuries and illnesses in the European Union

Knowing the economic burden of work-related illnesses and injuries in a country can help policy-makers set priorities. In a recent project involving five European Union countries, Institute for Work & Health Senior Scientist and labour economist Dr. Emile Tompa, along with post-doctoral fellow Amir Mofidi, developed and executed a new framework for such an estimate. In this presentation, Tompa discusses the approach, its potential, as well as results of the five-country study.
Published: November 2019