Institute for Work and Health

The Institute for Work & Health is an independent, not-for-profit research organization based in Toronto, Canada. Its mission is to “promote, protect and improve the safety and health of working people by conducting actionable research that is valued by employers, workers, and policy-makers.”

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Operations

Since 2013, IWH has operated with core funding from the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Labour (Ontario). For the 22 years previous to that, since its founding in 1990, the core funder was Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and its predecessors. The institute maintains an arm's-length relationship with its core funder.
Institute scientists also apply for and receive grants from peer-reviewed funding agencies in Canada, such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
IWH's board of directors includes senior business, labour and academic representatives. A scientific advisory committee provides guidance on IWH research activities.
IWH has formal affiliations with four universities in Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, McMaster University and York University. The institute has access to data sources from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and Statistics Canada.
IWH is part of the health and safety system in Ontario.

Research

IWH research falls into two broad areas:

the prevention of work-related injury and illness, which includes studies of programs, policies and practices, and the health of workers in the population at large; and
the health and recovery of injured workers, which involves research on treatment, return to work, disability prevention and management, and compensation policy.

IWH research focuses on these topics:

work-related musculoskeletal disorders
occupational health and safety practices
vulnerable workers
regulations and incentives
working conditions and health
return-to-work practices
clinical treatment
compensation and benefits
measurement of health and function
accessibility of work places to people with disabilities

IWH also conducts systematic reviews of occupational health and safety research. Systematic reviews provide an overview of the evidence from higher quality studies on a specific research question. Cochrane Back and Neck is based at IWH and conducts systematic reviews of clinical research on back and neck pain.
In 2020, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the institute published research on the impact of unsafe workplaces on worker's mental health.

Publications, tools and guides

IWH has produced a number of tools and guides based on its research evidence, including:A Guide to Successful Participatory Ergonomics ProgramsBreakthrough Change Case Study SeriesDisabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Outcome MeasureeOfficeErgo: Ergonomics e-Learning for Office WorkersIWH Organizational Performance MetricOHS Vulnerability MeasureOpioid ManagerRed Flags/Green Lights: A Guide to Identifying and Solving Return-to-Work ProblemsSeven Principles for Successful Return to Work So Your Back Hurts …Prevention is the Best Medicine: A Tool Kit for Teaching Newcomers
IWH also produces regular newsletters, includingIWH News, a monthly e-newsletterAt Work, a quarterly newsletterSharing Best Evidence, a periodic newsletter summarizing the results of a systematic review conducted by the instituteIssue Briefing, a periodic newsletter on the policy implications of health, safety, disability and/or workers’ compensation research