Workers' compensation and benefits policy
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to workers injured in the course of their employment. Eligibility for, and awarding of, benefits to injured workers are determined by workers’ compensation boards, which are funded through employer premiums. IWH research explores trends in compensation benefits, including benefit adequacy and equity, as well as the effects of compensation policy design on injury and illness prevention.
Featured
Research Highlights
Severe pain, not pressure to return to work or lack of accommodation offer, linked to opioid use post-injury
An IWH study found that among a group of injured workers in Ontario, those who experienced severe pain were more likely to use opioids than those who had no or only mild pain.
Published: February 12, 2025
Research Highlights
Workers are using cannabis to treat work-related conditions, mostly without medical guidance
While cannabis is often used recreationally, there is growing interest in its use for therapeutic purposes, such as for pain, anxiety, depression and sleep problems. Some workers are using cannabis many months following the onset of a work-related condition, mostly without medical guidance.
Published: October 5, 2023
IWH in the media
Union calls for national task force to fight violence against transport workers
An article by Jim Wilson on workplace violence in the transit sector cites IWH study on pain post-injury.
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, January 2023
Journal article
Journal article
Estimating the financial benefits of employers' occupational health and safety expenditures
Published: Safety Science, January 2023
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
Persistent pain: its role in work absence, health, and employment after a disabling work-related injury
Among working-aged adults, one of every six injuries that need medical attention are caused by work exposures, with over a third of these injuries leading to periods of work absence or disability. Chronic or persistent pain may occur after an injury. It is currently unclear how many workers experience persistent pain and how it impacts worker health and function, return to work and disability benefit expenditures. In this presentation, Dr. Kathleen Dobson shares findings from a study of Ontario workers experiencing a work-related injury or illness focusing on the prevalence of persistent pain, and its association with return-to-work outcomes.
Published: November 2022
IWH in the media
Study finds long-term pain an issue for many injured workers
A recent study of injured workers in Ontario “reinforces the importance of modified duties (if necessary) and return-to-work planning,” researcher say after results showed 70% experienced persistent pain 18 months after being injured.
Published: Safety+Health, November 2022
IWH in the media
7 in 10 injured workers still experience pain 18 months later
Seven in 10 workers who were injured on the job in Ontario still experience pain 18 months after the incident, Jim Wilson reports on findings from an IWH study.
Published: Canadian HR Reporter, November 2022
At Work article
IWH study finds 7 in 10 injured workers still experience pain more than a year after injury
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
Journal article
Journal article
Impact of persistent pain symptoms on work absence, health status and employment 18 months following disabling work-related injury or illness
Published: Occupational and Environmental Medicine, July 2022
IWH in the media
Unreported job injuries: ‘The elephant in the workplace’
While the frustrations of those seeking help from British Columbia’s system for compensating injured workers have been well-documented, much less is known about the many people who are injured at work but never make a claim, writes Andrew MacLeod, reporting on an IWH study on the extent of claim suppression in B.C.
Published: The Tyee, June 2022
Journal article
Journal article
Differential underestimation of work-related reinjury risk for older workers: challenges to producing accurate rate estimates
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, June 2022
At Work article
What research can do: IWH input contributes to enhancement of WSIB’s Health and Safety Index
When the WSIB reviewed its Health and Safety Index, IWH researchers provided advice on index methodology. An impact case study summarizes how enhancements to the index incorporated that advice.
Published: May 2022