- IWH study: Why some injuries lead to time off and others don’t: it goes beyond injury severity April 15, 2015
The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) released a study with some unexpected findings on why some injuries may become lost time claims. No-lost time claims were compared to lost time claims with similar types and severities of injuries. This identified worker/workplace characteristics that may impact whether a claim becomes a lost time claim.
Notable differences between whether a claim involved lost time were:
- “Physical workload mattered. This finding supports what one would expect, that it would be harder to work the day after an injury if the work is physically demanding.
- Age and time on the job didn’t matter. Though one might expect that workers who are young or new to the job would be less likely to take time off work after an injury, there was no evidence of this in the findings.
- Employer size didn’t matter. One might expect large employers to be more likely to report no-lost-time claims on the grounds that they are perhaps more able to accommodate injured workers. However, large employers were not more likely to report no-lost-time claims.
- Premium rate mattered. The study compared claims from employers in the top third of rate groups with the highest premiums against those in the bottom third. Employers paying more in premium rates were less likely to have lost-time claims.”
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For more information on this study and its findings, see IWH’s website at: Premium rates, work demands play role in whether injuries involve time loss. - Long term shift work linked to impaired brain power November 6, 2014
A study from Swansea University (and other European universities) indicates long term shift work could be linked to impaired brain power including memory and brain processing speed. According to its author, the “study shows the long term effects of shift work on the body clock are not only harmful to workers’ physical health, but also affect their mental abilities. Such cognitive impairments may have consequences for the safety of shift workers and the society that they serve, as well as for shift workers’ quality of life.” Find out more on Swansea University’s website at: Research shows long term shift work linked to impaired brain power.
You can view the article directly on the journal website Occupational & Environmental Medicine at: Chronic effects of shift work on cognition: findings from the VISAT longitudinal study.
Continue reading → - Risk of work injury linked to night, evening shifts still high after switching to days November 6, 2014
A recent Institute for Work & Health (IWH) study looks at the effects of moving from nighttime and weekend shift work to more regular daytime hours and finds even after moving to daytime work there may be an increased risk of work-related injury. Find out more on IWH’s website at: Risk of work injury linked to night, evening shifts still high after switching to days.
Continue reading → - IWH Briefing on Claim Suppression October 28, 2014
The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) has released an issue briefing entitled Suppression of workplace injury and illness claims: Summary of evidence in Canada. The briefing examines two recent reports from Manitoba and Ontario looking at workplace injuries and diseases that are not reported to Workers’ Compensation Boards/Commissions. You can download a copy of the briefing from IWH’s website at: Suppression of workplace injury and illness claims in Ontario and Manitoba.
Continue reading → - Gender/Sex, Work and Health October 15, 2014
The Institute of Gender and Health, part of Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), is examining the relationship of gender and sex on work and health. CIHR has awarded nine research chairs including the following topics:
- Gender, work and health human resources
- Gender, work and traumatic brain injury
- Better understanding for better prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders: A concerted, sex/gender sensitive approach
- Understanding how gender influences working conditions and health in long term care settings across Canada and internationally
- Gender and sex differences in workers’ compensation outcomes
- Effects of occupational radiation exposure on men and women in nuclear industry – from biomarkers to prevention strategies
- Gender in measurement and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal work disability
- Examining gender/sex differences in the relationships between work stress and disease, work injury risk, and the consequences of work injury
- Gender, health and caregiver friendly workplaces
See CIHR’s website at: CIHR Research Chairs in Gender, Work and Health for more information about each of these projects.For more information on Dr. Peter Smith’s work on Examining gender/sex differences in the relationships between work stress and disease, work injury risk, and the consequences of work injury see the Institute for Work & Health’s (IWH) website at: Gender, work and health.
Continue reading → - Institute for Work & Health (IWH) Questionnaire May Predict Future Claims Rates August 13, 2014
The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) has developed a questionnaire that has been found to useful in predicting workers’ compensation claim rates in Ontario workplaces. For more information and a link to the questionnaire, see the IWH’s website at: IWH eight-item questionnaire may predict future claims rates.
Continue reading → - Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) releases eight state-specific studies on Predictors of Worker Outcomes June 25, 2014
The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) released eight state-specific studies aimed to identify predictors of injured worker outcomes. The eight states involved are: Indiana; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; North Carolina; Pennsylvania; Virginia; and Wisconsin. Information for these studies was obtained through telephone interviews with injured workers. If you are interested in the details of these studies, they can be purchased on the WCRI website at:
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in Indiana
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in Massachusetts
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in Michigan
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in Minnesota
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in North Carolina
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in Pennsylvania
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in Virginia
- Predictors of Worker Outcomes in Wisconsin
- British Columbia introduces legislation to include heart disease as a presumptive disease for firefighters March 11, 2014
Find out more on the Government of British Columbia’s website in their March 10, 2014 New Release.
Continue reading → - The Big Shift – Economic and political drivers shift west and immigration from Asia influences Canadian demography March 10, 2014
Canada’s economic and political power is shifting from Central Canada to Western Canada. Immigrants are coming from China, India and across Asia, bringing Pacific influence to Central Canada. For more information, see John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker’s book, The Big Shift: The Seismic Change in Canadian Politics, Business, and Culture and What It Means for Our Future, on the HarperCollins website.
Continue reading → - National Mental Health Strategy for Canada – Mental Health Commission of Canada January 31, 2014
The Mental Health Commission of Canada released its mental health strategy for Canada. See the strategy at Changing Directions, Changing Lives: The Mental Health Strategy for Canada Unveiled.
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