Plain-language summaries
Institute for Work & Health (IWH) plain-language summaries condense research findings in various formats. At Work articles explain study results with comments from the study leads. Research Highlights summarize journal articles in easy-to-read, digest formats. Sharing Best Evidence summaries highlight findings from systematic reviews and other types of reviews conducted or led by IWH researchers. Issue Briefings discuss key research findings from IWH or elsewhere on topics that are of particular interest to policy-makers.
Research Highlights
Which workplace interventions are most effective in preventing upper extremity MSDs?
Ergonomics training, exercise programs, alternative pointing devices and keyboards and so on. A broad range of workplace interventions are available to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the arm, hand, shoulder and neck. Which ones are effective?
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Research Highlights
Study finds three groups of workers with low-back pain
Workers disabled by low-back pain can be grouped into three different groups: (1) those with workplace factors, (2) those with no workplace factors, but greater back pain, and (3) those with multiple factors.
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Research Highlights
Reducing musculoskeletal symptoms in health-care workers
Multi-component patient handling interventions can improve musculoskeletal health among health-care workers, including: a policy change at the worksite; implementation of new lift/transfer equipment; and broad-based training on the new equipment.
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Research Highlights
Improving health and safety in small businesses
Health and safety interventions in small businesses can improve safety-related attitudes, behaviour and health. Evidence supports two intervention types: a combination of training and safety audits; and a combination of engineering controls, training, safety audits and rewards.
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Research Highlights
What is the association between occupation and suicide risk among working Canadians?
With a few exceptions, the characteristics of specific occupations do not influence the risk for suicide in Canada. For men, nine occupational groups have an elevated risk for suicide; for women, four occupational groups have an elevated risk.
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Research Highlights
Why some injured workers don’t return to work as expected
For long-term and costly workers’ compensation claims, researchers identified four contexts in the return-to-work process that contributed to problems. The risk of a “toxic dose” resulted when problems occurred across the different contexts.
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Research Highlights
Are ergonomic interventions cost-effective?
There is strong evidence that ergonomic interventions result in positive financial returns for firms in the manufacturing and warehousing sector and moderate evidence for the administrative and support services and health-care sectors.
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Research Highlights
How do small businesses implement health and safety processes?
One size does not fit all. When it comes to occupational health and safety interventions, small businesses have needs that completely distinct from those of larger organizations.
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At Work article
Research team examines the relationship between business and OHS outcomes
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At Work article
Canadian youth enter the job market early, IWH study finds
Young people in Canada aged 12 to 14 are working in greater numbers than most would suppose. Nearly 53 per cent of youth in Ontario and 42 per cent in British Columbia reported working during the school year, according to a new study conducted at the Institute for Work & Health.
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Issue Briefing
Declining trends in young worker injury rates, 2000 to 2007
Although young males have typically had higher work-related injury rates than older ones, this trend has changed in some parts of Canada, where young men now have rates similar to those of older men. This Issue Briefing presents a detailed breakdown of workplace injury rates for men and women in three provinces over time, and suggests potential reasons for the trends.
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At Work article
Grant round-up: IWH research to provide practical answers to OHS/RTW questions
Thanks to funding from external funding agencies and programs, IWH scientists hope to find answers to important questions concerning injury rates, older workers, time off work, temporary work agencies and more.
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At Work article
Dyslexia linked to higher risk of work injury among youth
A recent Institute for Work & Health study suggests that young people with dyslexia may be at greater risk of work injury due to their learning disability. This early finding underscores the importance of accommodating different learning styles in health and safety training.
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At Work article
The wide reach of IWH research
Organizations near and far rely on Institute for Work & Health research to improve their workplace injury prevention and disability management programs and policies. Here’s a sampling of recent initiatives in which IWH research results were put into action
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At Work article
Economic crisis taking toll on worker health, IWH research suggests
Work insecurity and unemployment can have a negative effect on the physical and mental health of workers. This is according to new research and analysis from the Institute for Work & Health.
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Issue Briefing
Unemployment and mental health
Researchers have been looking at how unemployment affects mental health since the Great Depression of the 1930s, if not earlier. This body of research has shown that becoming unemployed has a negative impact on mental health. Also, people with mental health problems are more likely than others to become unemployed. This Issue Briefing summarizes the key research behind these findings and explores the implications for policy-makers and health and safety service providers.
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At Work article
Study suggests ways to improve safety among hard-to-reach, out-of-school young workers
Using youth employment centres for the first time to connect with out-of-school young workers about job safety, a new Institute for Work & Health study shows this hard-to-reach group possesses some basic knowledge of health and safety, yet it still experiences above-average injury rates.
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At Work article
Workplace program speeds return of workers with low-back injuries
According to new IWH research, workplace-based programs in which workers and supervisors jointly identify and solve return-to-work barriers help workers with low-back pain return to their jobs more quickly — especially workers who are often considered the most challenging return-to-work cases.
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