Health-care sector
IWH research that specifically involves health-care workplaces, workers, unions, employers and/or associations, as well as research on programs that specifically target the health-care sector, is collected together here. Not included here is IWH research that cuts across all or many sectors, even though it may be relevant to the health-care sector. For this reason, visitors are encouraged to explore beyond this page to find equally important information on the prevention of work injury and disability in health care.
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Video
Participatory approach to health and safety in long-term care
Involve front-line staff when identifying and controlling hazards at long-term care homes. Those who do a job every day know the associated hazards best. A participatory approach can help prevent injuries.
Published: October 2, 2019
Journal article
Journal article
Health care costs of rheumatoid arthritis: a longitudinal population study
Published: PLoS ONE, May 2021
Journal article
Journal article
Getting the message right: evidence-based insights to improve organizational return-to-work communication practices
Published: Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, February 2021
Journal article
Journal article
Towards consensus in defining and handling contextual factors within rheumatology trials: an initial qualitative study from an OMERACT working group
Published: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, February 2021
Journal article
Journal article
The association between the perceived adequacy of workplace infection control procedures and personal protective equipment with mental health symptoms: a cross-sectional survey of Canadian health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Published: Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, January 2021
Journal article
Journal article
A realist review of violence prevention education in healthcare
Published: Healthcare, January 2021
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
More than just COVID-19 prevention: Exploring the links between PPE, safe work protocols and workers' mental health
We have heard a lot about the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control procedures (ICP) in reducing workplace COVID-19 transmission. A new study, conducted jointly with the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), set out to explore their importance in protecting workers' mental health. In this presentation, Dr. Peter Smith shares results from two surveys, one conducted among health-care workers and the other among the broader Canadian workforce. The findings provide important insights into the additional benefits of adequate design and implementation of employer-based infection control practices—beyond reducing COVID-19 transmission.
Published: November 2020
IWH in the media
COVID precautions protect workers' physical and mental health, study
Canadian health-care workers say they lacked adequate COVID-19 precautions during the pandemic’s first wave and new research finds this also contributes to poorer mental health. Workers Health & Safety Centre shares findings from a study by IWH and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.
Published: Workers Health & Safety Centre, September 2020
IWH in the media
Health-care workers lacking PPE suffer from more anxiety and depression
While personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control procedures are often discussed as measures to reduce virus transmission, we also need to understand their importance in the context of mental health, especially since the mental health impacts of COVID-19 may linger beyond the pandemic, writes IWH Senior Scientist Dr. Peter Smith in The Conversation.
Published: The Conversation, September 2020
At Work article
Understanding challenges in hospitals’ workplace violence reporting systems
How consistently and reliably are hospital violence incidents reported in Ontario? An IWH research team surveyed workers at six hospitals in the province in 2017. Despite mandatory reporting, the results showed great variation in reporting patterns.
Published: August 2020
Journal article
Journal article
Assessing adverse events after chiropractic care at a chiropractic teaching clinic: an active-surveillance pilot study
Published: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, August 2020