News releases

August 23, 2016 (Toronto, Ont.)—The important work of Wolfgang Zimmermann, a tireless advocate for labour-management reintegration programs in Canada and beyond, is being celebrated at the 2016 Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture, taking place on October 14 in Toronto. This year’s Nachemson lecture, an annual event of the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), will honour the contributions of Zimmermann as founder and executive director of the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR). Under his direction, NIDMAR has professionalized disability management… Read more

June 23, 2016 (Toronto, Ontario)—Women who do the same tasks as men often face a higher risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in their neck and upper limbs. That higher risk may be due to both biological (sex) differences as well as differences in social roles, activities and behaviours (gender), and it’s important that these differences be examined and understood in order to develop effective injury prevention approaches. That was Dr. Julie Côté’s key message today at the 9th International Scientific Conference on the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders… Read more

June 22, 2016 (Toronto, Ontario)—To reduce the health and injury risks of prolonged sitting, workers should change postures often and aim to stand for an equal amount of time that they spend sitting over the course of a work day. That was Dr. Jack Callaghan’s message in a keynote address this morning before an audience of about 400 researchers and clinicians at the 9th International Scientific Conference on the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (PREMUS 2016). Although even a small decrease in sitting time has been shown to reduce musculoskeletal… Read more

June 21, 2016 (Toronto, Ontario)—Research shows that stretch and flex programs do not reduce exposure to, and symptoms of, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among construction workers, so why are they still so popular at worksites? The answer has to do with what else is taking place during these morning huddles, Dr. Linda Goldenhar said in keynote remarks delivered this morning at the 9th International Scientific Conference on the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (PREMUS 2016), before an audience of about 400 researchers and clinicians. “I want to put the… Read more

June 20, 2016 (Toronto, Ontario)—Workers who often use their hands in forceful gripping and pinching motion face a higher risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful condition that causes tingling, numbness and weakness in the hand and sometimes requires surgery. Low-force repetitive hand motion and wrist posture, widely thought of as key risk factors, appear in these findings to be of lower importance than forceful pinch and grip among workers doing hand-intensive tasks such as food processing and manufacturing work. That was a key message in Dr. Bradley Evanoff’s… Read more

March 11, 2016 (Toronto, Ontario)—When workplaces make large improvements in occupational health and safety (OHS), it seems some type of external influence helps bring three internal factors into play: an organizational motivation to take action in OHS, the introduction of new OHS knowledge, and an engaged health and safety champion who integrates that knowledge into the organization. This is one of the conclusions of an Institute for Work & Health (IWH) study published online today by the journal Safety Science (… Read more

February 19, 2016 (Toronto, Ont.)—2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) Outcome Measure™, and the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is celebrating. IWH is hosting DASHBash – a series of events taking place throughout the year to mark the achievements of this “little tool that grew.” The DASHBash year is kicking off with a seminar on Tuesday, February 23 taking place at IWH’s offices in Toronto, which is also being streamed live. It will include a look-back by occupational therapist Dorcas Beaton, a senior scientist at… Read more

January 11, 2016 (Toronto, Ont.)—Construction firms in Ontario’s industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sector may soon be able to benchmark their workplace health and safety policies and practices with each other, if the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) has its way. IWH, a not-for-profit research organization based in Toronto, is currently conducting research into the policies and practices of construction firms in the province’s ICI sector. The research involves contacting a random sample of both large and small firms from the sector, and asking the person… Read more

November 12, 2015 (Toronto, Ontario)—Strong evidence suggests that implementing workplace-based resistance training can help prevent and manage musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper extremity, which includes the neck, shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist and hand. That’s one of the key findings coming out of a systematic review conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), published today as an open access paper in the … Read more

October 9, 2015 (Toronto, Ontario)—Over the past decade, Ontario’s Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) has made major changes to both its case management and vocational rehabilitation services. Its aim was to improve services to injured workers and employers and to improve outcomes for workers disabled by a work-related injury or illness. According to the WSIB, these reforms have been successful, having prevented more than two million lost work days annually in Ontario. Judy Geary, who as a member of the WSIB executive team led the design and implementation of these… Read more