Abstract

Employment injuries are expensive for the whole of society (workers, employers, the community). In a study published by the IRSST in 2017, the researchers estimated that the injuries occurring each year in Quebec generated costs of approximately $4.8 billion.

In Quebec, employers assume a significant proportion of these costs. It would therefore be useful for them to reduce the costs by investing in the prevention of employment injuries. However, how to assess the real return on investment (ROI) of such preventive activities is not always obvious, even though the scientific literature contains many studies analyzing the profitability of investments in employment injury prevention.

This activity is intended to report on current knowledge of methods for evaluating the profitability of investments in employment injury prevention. Based on a descriptive analysis of the relevant studies, their results will be summarized and the various approaches used will be presented.

Completion of this activity will make it easier for researchers to choose methodologies in their research activities concerning the evaluation of the profitability of investing in prevention. It could also be used to promote the profitability of this kind of investment with employers.