May 2019

What 5 things do we think you should know during NAOSH Week?

To help you mark this year’s North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week, taking place now from May 5-11, we offer you “5 things we think you should know”—five important research findings from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in the past year. We suggest you share these findings with your work colleagues and peers. They can give rise to good discussions—this week or any week of the year.

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Ontario’s mandatory working-at-heights training led to safer practices and reduced claims rates: IWH study

In 2015, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour implemented a mandatory training program to better protect construction workers who work at heights. An evaluation of the reach and effectiveness of the training was undertaken by a team at IWH. It found that the training had high uptake within Ontario’s construction sector and led to safer work practices among employers and workers. It also led to a decline in claims rates due to falls targeted by the training—especially among very small employers and construction subsectors with the most frequent fall injuries.

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Examinining the need for, and use of, workplace supports among boomers with chronic diseases

Older workers with diabetes or arthritis experience more fatigue and pain, but how different are they from healthy older workers in their need for, and use of, workplace accommodations and supports? An IWH study examined this question, also looking at differences in work outcomes when people have access to accommodations when they’re needed.

Read what the study found

Tailored support key to effectiveness of programs that help young people with disabilities enter the workforce

Programs that help young adults with disabilities make the transition from school to work are effective when they combine job placements with tailored support. That’s according to a systematic review by IWH.

Get the review findings

IWH Speaker Series: Link between use of substances affecting central nervous system and workplace injuries, deaths

Prescription and recreational drugs that act on the central nervous system—for example, opioids, benzodiazepines and cannabis, among others—can have many adverse effects, including cognitive and psychomotor impairments. An IWH systematic review examined the links between the use of such substances and workplace injury and fatality risks. On May 28, IWH Associate Scientist Dr. Nancy Carnide shares findings from that systematic review at an IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Sign up to attend

See you at the OOHNA conference in June

Are you going to the Ontario Occupational Health Nurses’ Association (OOHNA) annual conference on June 6 and 7 in Mississauga? If so, come by our table-top display on the Thursday to learn about our latest research findings and pick up our injury prevention and return-to-work resources. We’re looking forward to chatting with you about how research can help you improve and protect the health and safety of workers.

Find out more

Uyen Vu
Communications Associate
613-979-7742
uvu@iwh.on.ca