Health practice and management

Health-care providers and health-care services play an important part in the return to work (RTW) of injured workers and in disability management processes at workers’ compensation boards in Canada. IWH research supports front-line health-care practitioners—including primary care physicians and allied health-care professionals, who support or treat workers with injuries and illnesses that affect their ability to work.

Featured

A halftone collage illustrating different types of measurement instruments
Impact case study

Dorcas Beaton: How a passion for MSD outcome measures made a difference in the world of work and beyond

Sometimes, an IWH scientist’s work impacts go beyond the work and health field. That is the case for Dr. Dorcas Beaton, retired IWH senior scientist whose expertise developed through work and health research spread to the broader field of clinical health outcomes.
Published: August 7, 2026
Toronto police officers in a car and on horses.
At Work article

PTSI treatment program delivers benefits for first responders, but no change in return-to-work rates

First responders face high rates of post-traumatic stress injuries (PTSI) due to the nature of their jobs. In response, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board commissioned an intensive, 14-week program treatment program tailored to these workers, which has undergone a multi-part evaluation.
Published: March 9, 2026
Journal article
Journal article

Implementing the PEIR Framework and PEIRS-22 to facilitate improved and sustainable patient engagement in OMERACT

Published: Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, February 2025
A group of firefighters aim a firehose at a building
At Work article

Employers face challenges in supporting public safety personnel with post-traumatic stress injuries

Workers in public safety jobs, like firefighters or police, are often exposed to potentially traumatic events and may experience mental health injuries as a result. In Ontario, a pilot program has been developed to help treat these workers. To identify any needed changes to the program, IWH researchers asked employers about their experiences helping these workers return to work after a mental health injury.
Published: January 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Journal article

ECHO OEM virtual community of learning for primary care

Published: Occupational Medicine, September 2024
Journal article
Journal article
Journal article

Defining domains: developing consensus-based definitions for foundational domains in OMERACT core outcome sets

Published: Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism, June 2024