Illness/injury prevention
IWH has a long history of conducting research to provide practical guidance to employers, workers, OHS professionals and regulators about what works and what doesn’t in injury or illness prevention. This research targets the injury and illness prevention practices of workplaces, as well as the programs developed by governments, health and safety associations and others to support and motivate workplaces to adopt effective practices.
Featured
IWH Speaker Series
How new businesses get their start in workplace health and safety: implications for research and policy
Published: April 21, 2026
At Work article
Differences in firm-level AI use for health and safety
To what extent are Canadian workplaces using artificial intelligence (AI) to help support workers’ health and safety? And what do these workplaces have in common? An IWH study surveyed firms across Ontario and British Columbia to find out.
Published: October 8, 2025
IWH Speaker Series
IWH Speaker Series
How new businesses get their start in workplace health and safety: implications for research and policy
New businesses are too seldom the focus of occupational health and safety (OHS) research even though they may present risks to worker health and safety. To better understand how new businesses start engaging with OHS, a study team conducted a survey of owners of new Ontario businesses from diverse sectors. In this presentation, Dr. Lynda Robson shares results from the study. She discusses what study participants reported about their OHS management activities, OHS information sources, experiences with the Ontario OHS system, barriers to taking OHS actions, and preferences for receiving OHS information. The presentation also highlights factors associated with OHS management initiation, the value of applying a research-based behaviour change framework to the study, and the implications of the study for research and policy.
Published: April 2026
Journal article
Journal article
Heat exposure and health outcomes in construction workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Published: Environmental Health Insights, March 2026
Journal article
Journal article
Self-reported cannabis use and intoxication at work: prevalence across industries and occupations and association with workplace injuries in the United States (US)
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, March 2026
Journal article
Journal article
Comparing profiles of mental illness and positive mental health between injured workers and the general working population in Ontario
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, February 2026
Journal article
Journal article
Early occupational health and safety interventions for small businesses: an environmental scan
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, January 2026
Journal article
Journal article
The combined effect of psychosocial safety climate and OHS vulnerabilities on workplace injury risks
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine , January 2026
Project
Project
Construction union effect
Two studies have previously examined the union effect on workplace injuries in the industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) sector of construction, using only data from Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). This study both repeats and extends these studies earlier methods, by using additional sources of data.
Status: Ongoing
At Work article
Differences in firm-level AI use for health and safety
To what extent are Canadian workplaces using artificial intelligence (AI) to help support workers’ health and safety? And what do these workplaces have in common? An IWH study found that about a quarter of firms surveyed across Ontario and British Columbia were using AI for occupational health and safety (OHS). Those that were more likely to use the technology for OHS were larger organizations and those where workers were more frequently exposed to hazards.
Published: October 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Landscape of artificial intelligence use for occupational health and safety practice in two Canadian provinces
Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, September 2025
Journal article
Journal article
Do occupational health and safety tools that utilize artificial intelligence have a measurable impact on worker injury or illness? Findings from a systematic review
Published: Systematic Reviews, July 2025