Opioids

A new, interactive tool has just been launched to illustrate patterns of opioid-related harms in a large group of Ontario workers. Members of the public can view data on harms by occupation and industry, and by demographic factors like age, sex and and geographic region.

Published: December 2023

Surveillance systems that monitor opioid-related harms in Canada do not typically collect work information. Limited data on opioid overdose deaths in Canada point to construction and trades workers as the worker groups most affected by the overdose crisis; but we know little else. Through a collaboration between the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) at Ontario Health and the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), a study team has expanded the Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS) to include opioid-related harms. In this presentation, Dr. Nancy Carnide (IWH) and Dr. Paul Demers (OCRC) share findings that have emerged from this unique source of data on a large sample of formerly injured workers.

Published: June 2023

Published: JAMA, May 2023

Published: Journal of Palliative Medicine, January 2023

Published: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, October 2022

A high proportion of injured workers in Ontario experience persistent pain for well over a year after their work-related injury. According to an IWH study of workers' compensation lost-time claimants, 70 per cent of workers experience pain 18 months after their work injury.

Published: September 2022

Published: Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety, September 2022

The number of people who die or who are being hospitalized due to opioids continues to rise, prompting the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) to launch a research project monitoring opioid-related adverse health events in order to identify the worker groups most at risk. Angela Gismondi reports.

Published: Daily Commercial News, August 2022

Published: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, July 2022

Published: BMJ Open, March 2022