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

A healthcare worker in scrubs and a mask walks to work with her bag and phone in-hand.
Research Highlights

Workers with COVID-19 had better return-to-work rates than others during the pandemic

During the pandemic, workers who contracted COVID-19 from work had better return-to-work rates 18 months later than those with other conditions. Most traditional return-to-work factors, however, did not explain the difference in rates.
Published: July 14, 2026
A healthcare worker in scrubs and a mask walks to work with her bag and phone in-hand.
Research Highlights

Workers with COVID-19 had better return-to-work rates than others during the pandemic

During the pandemic, workers who contracted COVID-19 from work had better return-to-work rates 18 months later than those with other conditions. Most traditional return-to-work factors, however, did not explain the difference in rates.
Published: July 2026
Journal article
Journal article

Multidimensional social exposure clusters and incident multimorbidity in a population-based cohort

Published: American Journal of Epidemiology, July 2026
Journal article
Journal article

Interaction in OHS research knowledge transfer: a rapid review

Published: Safety Science, June 2026
Project
Project

Understanding the business impacts of prevention activities in Ontario: A strategic data capacity and evaluation opportunity

This project aims to develop data and researcher capacity that will generate evidence on the broader economic business impacts of prevention activities and evaluate future prevention programs and interventions that are supported by the WSIB, and the provincially-funded health and safety associations, to make Ontario the best and safest place to work.
Status: Ongoing
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IWH in the media

Strengthening workplace safety for small business workers

Small businesses often experience higher worker injury and fatality rates than large organizations in the same sector due to limited health and safety knowledge and resources. A recent study conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) addressed gaps in research on new businesses – often classified as small businesses – and occupational health and safety (OHS).
Published: Workers Health & Safety Centre, May 2026
Journal article
Journal article

Integrating occupational health and safety into the artificial intelligence system life cycle

Published: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, May 2026
Journal article