Videos & presentations

Participatory approach to health and safety in long-term care

Long-term care homes are high-risk environments, and strategies to reduce workplace injuries are essential to protecting long-term care workers and the quality of care provided to residents. This video whiteboard explains why and how a participatory approach to injury prevention can help prevent injuries by involving front-line staff in the identification and control of workplace hazards.

Posted October 2019

Supervisor's response to work injury matters

Supervisors are busy. They’re always juggling multiple demands for their time and attention. But that moment when they learn a worker is injured, do they react with concern and empathy or blame and skepticism? As this research-based video from Institute for Work & Health (IWH) sums up, a supervisor’s response can make a difference to whether an injured worker returns to work successfully within a few months. It’s one of the ways supervisors matter.

Posted September 2019

Sitting or standing? Which is best?

If you’re confused by seemingly duelling headlines about the negative health effects of prolonged sitting and prolonged standing, this video may help clear things up. Two of the scientists behind these headlines work at the Institute for Work & Health, so we put them before the camera, side by side, to sort out the take-away message.

Posted November 2018

Trouvez les travailleurs à protéger

La vulnérabilité en santé et en sécurité au travail ne dépend pas de qui vous êtes. Elle dépend des fonctions que vous accomplissez. Nos recherches montrent qu’il existe une meilleure façon de repérer les travailleurs vulnérables.

Posted August 2017

Find the workers you need to protect

How do you tell which workers are vulnerable to injury? Occupational health and safety (OHS) vulnerability is not about who people are. It's about the work they do. Use the OHS Vulnerability Measure to identify workers you need to protect.

Posted August 2017

Creating effective return-to-work programs for workers with MSDs

What workplace-based interventions are effective in helping workers with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) recover and return to work after a period of work absence? This is the question that a team of researchers from the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) in Toronto, Canada, and the Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research (ISCRR) in Melbourne, Australia, set out to answer through a systematic review of high quality research on the topic.

Posted May 2017

Celebrating 20 years of the DASH Outcome Measure

In 1996, when the DASH was developed by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) and the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, no measure had previously existed to assess the disability and function of the arm, shoulder and hand as a whole. Today, this outcome measure is used across the world, and is available in 55 languages and dialects. Developers of the DASH talk about why they think the tool has stood the test of time.

Posted January 2017

Preventing upper extremity injuries at work

Strong evidence suggests that workplace-based resistance training can help prevent and manage musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of the upper extremity, which includes the neck, shoulder, arm, elbow, wrist and hand. That’s one of the key findings coming out of a systematic review conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH).

Posted October 2016

The effect of COR certification on injury rates

We looked at the injury rates of firms that received COR Certification for occupational health and safety.

Posted June 2016

Understanding injury risk and recovery among shift workers

Research evidence has been accumulating on the adverse health consequences of night, evening and rotating shift work. New research is now suggesting that, not only are shift workers at greater risk of work injury, they are more likely to have a harder time recovering should an injury occur. What's more, injury rates don't improve when shift workers switch into regular 9-to-5 work schedules, as Mustard Post-doctoral fellow Dr. Imelda Wong explains.

Posted November 2015

Supporting workers with arthritis through job accommodations

A study about workplace supports for people with arthritis suggests that many affected workers don’t feel they need frequent help. The study, conducted by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), also finds that people who can access the workplace supports often report better outcomes at work. That can mean less job disruption, greater ability to concentrate on tasks and fewer changes to work hours.

Posted September 2015

Divergent trends in work-related and non-work-related injury rates in Ontario

Work-related injury rates in Ontario fell by 30 per cent from 2004 to 2011. In contrast, rates of injuries outside of work did not change. According to a study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH), if injuries due to leisure, recreation or other non-work activities had fallen at the same rate as work-related injuries, the province would have seen 200,000 fewer injuries in 2011.

Posted February 2015

Exploring the role of gender in work-related injury, chronic illness and recovery

Institute Scientist Dr. Peter Smith talks about his five-year research program into how sex and gender shape risk of work injury, time off work after a work injury, and the relationship between the work environment and chronic illnesses.

Posted September 2014

Health and safety issues for low-wage temp agency workers

The complex employment relationship between temporary agency workers, temp agencies and client employers creates loopholes and incentives that may leave low-wage temp agency workers more vulnerable to workplace injuries, says research from the Institute for Work & Health.

Posted July 2014

Nachemson 2013: Unique research-policy partnership

Dr. Mieke Koehoorn, co-lead of the Partnership for Work, Health & Safety at the University of British Columbia and recipient of the 2013 Alf Nachemson Memorial Lectureship, talks about the unique research-policy partnership between the University of British Columbia and WorkSafeBC.

Posted November 2013

Nachemson 2013: Impact of research on policy

Dr. Mieke Koehoorn, co-lead of the Partnership for Work, Health & Safety at the University of British Columbia and recipient of the 2013 Alf Nachemson Memorial Lectureship, gives examples of the way in which research has had an impact on policy in British Columbia.

Posted November 2013

Nachemson 2013: Challenges in the research-policy relationship

Dr. Mieke Koehoorn, co-lead of the Partnership for Work, Health & Safety at the University of British Columbia and recipient of the 2013 Alf Nachemson Memorial Lectureship, talks about the challenges facing researchers in developing strong working relationships with policy-makers.

Posted November 2013

Ontario Office of the Worker Adviser: Services and partnerships in support of vulnerable workers

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Alec Farquhar, Office of the Worker Adviser

Income security and labour-market engagement: Envisioning the future of work disability policy in Canada

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Emile Tompa, Institute for Work & Health; Ellen MacEachen, Institute for Work & Health

How to make occupational health and safety training more effective: Findings from a field trial

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Ben Amick, Institute for Work & Health

An introduction to developmental evaluation: Why evaluation matters in rethinking "accountability to learning"

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Sanjeev Sridharan, St. Michael's Hospital

Law Commission of Ontario’s Vulnerable Workers Project: Why? How? What’s next?

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Patricia Hughes, Law Commission of Ontario

Research informing policy: How to make an impact

Presented on at Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture presentation.

Presenters: Mieke Koehoorn, University of British Columbia

Preventing needlestick injuries in Ontario’s acute care hospitals: Progress and ongoing challenges

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Andrea Chambers, Institute for Work & Health

Geographic variation in work injuries: An analysis of individual and area-level factors within Canada

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Curtis Breslin, Institute for Work & Health; Sara Morassaei, Institute for Work & Health

Bridging the gap between the economic evaluation literature and daily practice in OHS

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Hanneke van Dongen, VU University Amsterdam

Contrasting participatory ergonomics programs with requirements for occupational health and safety management systems

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Richard Wells, Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD)

Health and safety issues in the aging workforce

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Harry Shannon, McMaster University

Health-care workers and antineoplastic drugs: Evaluating the risks and identifying determinants of exposure

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Chun Yip Hon, Ryerson University

Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study: Recruitment and participant characteristics

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Sarah Derrett, University of Otago, New Zealand

Monitoring health inequities by socio-economic status: Lessons from Scotland

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: John Frank, Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy, University of Edinburgh

Fairness in accommodating work injury and disability: What is perceived as fair and why do these perceptions matter?

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Gail Hepburn, University of Lethbridge

Work disability trajectories under three workers' compensation programs

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Emile Tompa, Institute for Work & Health

Serving the food nation: Assessing body mass index and self-perceived weight in the food service worker population

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Julia Woodhall , University of Waterloo

Certifications and awards for occupational health and safety, wellness, quality and excellence

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: John Speers, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services

Regional trends in work-related injury and illness, Ontario 2004-2008

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Andrea Chambers, Institute for Work & Health; Cameron Mustard, Institute for Work & Health

Development of a prediction rule to determine time away from work

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Ivan Steenstra, Institute for Work & Health

Towards a transformative view of evaluation

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Sanjeev Sridharan, St. Michael's Hospital

New models for occupational cancer surveillance in Canada

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Paul Demers, Occupational Cancer Research Centre

The management of OHS and return-to-work issues in temporary work agencies

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Ellen MacEachen, Institute for Work & Health

Supporting employees dealing with chronic diseases: Emerging issues among workers with arthritis

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Monique Gignac, Toronto Western Research Institute

Is safe production an oxymoron?

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Mark Pagell, York University

Reflecting on a program of participatory ergonomics interventions: A multiple case study

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Richard Wells, University of Waterloo

Health and wellness of southern Ontario truck drivers

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters:

Repeat workers’ compensation claims

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Jacob Etches, Institute for Work & Health

Pictograms development and evaluation project

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Trevor King, Institute for Work & Health; Kim Grant, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services

Race, poverty and precariousness: Understanding the racialization of poverty in Canada

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Grace-Edward Galabuzi, Ryerson University

Research informing public policy: Workers’ compensation in California

Presented on at Alf Nachemson Memorial Lecture presentation.

Presenters: Robert Reville, RAND

The impact of job strain on the risk of depression

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Peter Smith, Institute for Work & Health

Work injury risk by time of day in Ontario

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Cameron Mustard, Institute for Work & Health; Andrea Chambers, Institute for Work & Health

Regulatory action against bullying and harassment in the workplace in an international perspective: From research to policy

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Katherine Lippel, University of Ottawa

An economic evaluation of distance lifestyle counselling among overweight employees

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Marieke van Wier, VU University Amsterdam

Corporate social responsibility - The business case and self-regulation: Do they really work in achieving workplace safety?

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Susan Hart, Memorial University

A national scan of safety resources for recent immigrants entering the Canadian workforce

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Agnieszka Kosny, Institute for Work & Health; Marni Lifshen, Institute for Work & Health

Health care and WSIB challenges for temporary foreign workers

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Janet McLaughlin, International Migration Research Centre, Wilfred Laurier University

Effect of case management on time to return to work: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Jason Busse, Institute for Work & Health

Systematic review on depression in the workplace

Presented on at IWH Speaker Series presentation.

Presenters: Andrea Furlan, Institute for Work & Health; William Gnam, Institute for Work & Health