Dr. Arif Jetha
Dr. Arif Jetha is a scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. He is also an assistant professor (status-only) at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
Jetha earned his PhD in behavioural sciences and public health at the University of Toronto, and an MSc in health community and development from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also held post-doctoral fellowships at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety and the Institute for Work & Health.
Jetha’s program of research aims at understanding how the future of work will affect the employment participation of people living with chronic disabling conditions across the life course. He is specifically interested in understanding early labour market experiences of millennial young adults and their impact on key transitions across life.
Jetha's research takes a systems perspective to understand the role of policy-level factors and organizational conditions in the prevention and management of work disability. Jetha uses mixed-methods research approaches to pursue his research program and produce findings that are relevant and usable for diverse stakeholders.
“For millennial young adults, experiences during the early career phase are critical and can shape long-term labour market and health outcomes. Young adults living with a chronic disease or disability face a system of factors that create challenges to employment participation that extend across the working life course and adversely impact health. I am motivated to conduct research that contributes to the development of policy and programs that promote early and sustained involvement in employment.”
— Dr. Arif Jetha
Research areas
Projects
- Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED): A partnership to deliver workplace resources to sustain employment of people with chronic, episodic conditions. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada Signature Initiative. Ongoing.
- Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy: Envisioning the future of disability policy in Canada. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing.
- Conceal or reveal? Facilitators and barriers to older workers' communication of accommodation needs. Funded by Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing.
- Future-proofing young Canadians with disabilities for the changing labour market. Funded by Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada). Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Getting the message right: strengthening RTW communication in B.C.'s health-care sector. Funded by WorkSafeBC Innovation at Work. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
Publications
- Jetha A, Johnson SR, Gignac MA. Unmet workplace support needs and lost productivity of workers with systemic sclerosis: a path analysis study. Arthritis Care and Research. 2019 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1002/acr.24123.
- Bonaccio S, Connelly CE, Gellatly IR, Jetha A, Martin Ginis KA. The participation of people with disabilities in the workplace across the employment cycle: employer concerns and research evidence. Journal of Business and Psychology. 2019 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1007/s10869-018-9602-5.
- Jetha A, Yanar B, Lay AM, Mustard C. Work disability management communication bottlenecks within large and complex public service organizations: a sociotechnical systems study. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2019;29(4):754-763. doi:10.1007/s10926-019-09836-3.
- Gray SE, Sheehan LR, Lane TJ, Jetha A, Collie A. Concerns about claiming, postclaim support, and return to work planning: the workplace's impact on return to work. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2019;61(4):e139-e145. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000001549.
- Jetha A, Bowring J, Furrie A, Smith F, Breslin FC. Supporting the transition into employment: a study of Canadian young adults living with disabilities. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2019;29(1):140-149. doi:10.1007/s10926-018-9772-z.
Speaker Series presentations
- Promoting labour market transitions for young adults with chronic disabling conditions: a systematic review. IWH Speaker Series. November 27, 2018.
- Life course concepts in the work experiences of people with arthritis. IWH Speaker Series. November 22, 2016.
Interviews and articles
- Grant round-up: Anticipating future risks among externally funded projects under way at IWH. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 99, Winter 2020.
- Addressing communication issues faced by supervisors, case managers key to well-run RTW process. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 98, Fall 2019.
- Employers miss out on talent by overlooking workers living with disabilities. The Conversation. July 25, 2019. Available from: https://theconversation.com/employers-miss-out-on-talent-by-overlooking-workers-living-with-disabilities-119626
- Tailored support effective for young workers with disabilities. Canadian Occupational Safety. February 25, 2019. Available from: https://www.cos-mag.com/safety-leadership-culture/39408-tailored-support-effective-for-young-workers-with-disabilities/
- Supported job placements help young adults with disabilities find work: review. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 95, Winter 2019.