Research that matters to protecting the health and safety of workers

The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is a Canadian leader in work injury and disability prevention research. An independent, not-for-profit organization, IWH conducts and shares actionable research to promote, protect and improve the health and safety of working people.

Latest news & findings

5 things we think you should know

5 Things We Think You Should Know

Our annual edition of 5 Things We Think You Should Know is out now! This publication outlines five IWH research findings from the past year that we think can make a difference to workplace injury and disability prevention programs. It's available online and as a sharable PDF.

See the handout

A residential home in mid-build is surrounded by scaffolding

Media release - Worker injuries due to falls from heights declined after training made standard and mandatory: study

November 3, 2023 (Toronto, Ontario)—In the three-year period after Ontario made working-at-heights training in the construction sector standardized and mandatory, the rate of fall-from-height injuries leading to time off work fell by 19 per cent, a study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) has found.

See the news release

A woman dressed in work attire looks out a window with her arms folded.

What is the impact of depression on years of employment among working-age adults?

If someone experiences depression, what is the impact on the length of their future working life? It depends on how, and when, someone experiences depression. An IWH study found five trajectories of depression in working adults, each with varied impacts on their future years of work.

Read about the study

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Media Release - Addressing work conditions to improve public health: a series in The Lancet

October 12, 2023 (Toronto, Ontario)—Working conditions can have an impact on health and unequal health outcomes across the population. As a result, decision-makers from across different government departments should take greater note of work as a social determinant of health. That is a key message from a series of three papers published today in one of the world’s leading medical journals, The Lancet.

See the news release

A man speaks with a female doctor in scrubs who holds a clipboard

IWH study finds workers are using cannabis to treat work-related conditions, mostly without medical guidance

One in seven workers with a work-related physical injury or illness said they used cannabis to treat the condition. That’s according to an IWH study based on interviews conducted with workers 18 to 36 months after their work-related illness or injury. Importantly, most of these workers had not received medical guidance on the therapeutic use of cannabis.

Read about the study

IN THE CURRENT ISSUE...

Return-to-work challenges in policing.

The impact of depression on years of employment over a lifetime

A research agenda on artificial intelligence and its impact on worker health and safety

And more....

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Tools and guides

Integrate evidence-based policies and practices into your occupational health and safety, return-to-work and rehabilitation programs. IWH has created a number of tools and guides based on our research findings that can help improve program outcomes.

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Impact case studies

Find out how IWH research is making a difference. Read our impact case studies, in which policy-makers, workplaces and other stakeholders in health, safety and disability prevention tell how IWH research helped improve their policies, programs and practices.

Go to case studies

Research summaries

Whether it’s a policy briefing, a systematic review summary or the highlights of a specific research project, we’ve compiled a number of plain-language summaries to help you understand the research we’re doing, what we have found, and how we found it.

Get the summaries

Events

Learn directly from the researchers themselves about their latest findings in health, safety and disability prevention. We host regular presentations (in person or live stream) through our IWH Speaker Series and our annual Nachemson lecture.

See upcoming events