Dr. Arif Jetha
Dr. Arif Jetha is associate scientific director and scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. He is also an associate 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 sociopolitical, technological, environmental and economic changes that characterize the future of work affect the health and employment participation of vulnerable workers including young workers and persons living with disabilities. He is specifically interested in the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) on the health, safety and well-being of workers.
To pursue his research program, Jetha takes a systems perspective and uses a mixed-methods research approach. He collaborates closely with diverse research partners to produce findings that can inform policy and practice.
“The world of work is changing at a rapid rate. Studying the future of work allows me to understand the emerging challenges facing workers and create an evidence base that can be used to inform the design of policies and programs that are resilient to change and protect the most vulnerable.”
— Dr. Arif Jetha
Projects
- Role of accommodations and communication practices in supporting the employment participation of Canadians living with disabilities. Funded by Canadian Disability Participation Project. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Strengthening disability management in Ontario’s municipal sector. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Social Sciences Humanities Research Council Signature Initiative. Completed.
- Supporting the employment participation of Canadian young adults with chronic conditions: a systematic review. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Understanding employment transitions among people living with arthritis across the life course. Funded by Canadian Disability Participation Project, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Partnership Grant. Completed. (PI on the project)
- Return to work in policing: synthesizing current practices and implementation guidance. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Completed.
Publications
- Fisher SL, Bonaccio S, Jetha A, Winkler M, Birch GE, Gignac MA. Guidelines for conducting partnered research in applied psychology: an illustration from disability research in employment contexts. Applied Psychology. 2023;72(4):1367-1391. doi:10.1111/apps.12438.
- Jetha A, Tucker L, Shahidi FV, Backman C, Kristman VL, Hazel EM, Perlin L, Proulx L, Chen C, Gignac MA. How does job insecurity and workplace activity limitations relate to rheumatic disease symptom trajectories in young adulthood? A longitudinal study. Arthritis Care & Research. 2023;75(1):14-21. doi:10.1002/acr.24982.
- Di Giuseppe G, Pagalan L, Jetha A, Pechlivanoglou P, Pole JD. Financial toxicity among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors: a systematic review of educational attainment, employment, and income. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 2023;183:103914. doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2023.103914.
- Jetha A, Nasir K, Van Eerd D, Gignac MA, Martin Ginis KA, Tompa E. Inclusion of young people with disabilities in the future of work: forecasting workplace, labour market and community-based strategies through an online and accessible Delphi survey protocol. BMJ Open. 2022;12(7):e055452. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-055452.
- Jetha A, Nasir K. Strategies to ensure young persons with disabilities are included in the future of work. Institute for Work & Health; 2022.
Speaker Series presentations
- Surveying the landscape for AI use in occupational health and safety in Ontario and British Columbia. IWH Speaker Series. March 25, 2025.
- Three scenarios of a future working world: Using strategic foresight to imagine and respond to a changing world of work for young adults living with a disability in Canada. IWH Speaker Series. October 17, 2023.
- Racial and ethnic inequities in the return-to-work of workers following an injury or illness: Findings from a systematic review. IWH Speaker Series. January 17, 2023.
- What the future of work looks like to young people with disabilities. IWH Speaker Series. December 14, 2021.
- Fragmentation in the future of work: Exploring the impact of the changing nature of work on vulnerable workers. IWH Speaker Series. February 23, 2021.
Interviews and articles
- Supported job placements help young adults with disabilities find work: review. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 95, Winter 2019.
- For millennials, employment is a public health challenge. The Conversation. September 6, 2018. Available from: https://theconversation.com/for-millennials-employment-is-a-public-health-challenge-102028
- Precarious work a health threat for millennials. Toronto Star. August 26, 2018. Available from: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2018/08/26/precarious-work-a-health-threat-for-millennials.html
- Supervisors play key role in return from injury, study finds. Daily Commercial News. August 20, 2018. Available from: https://canada.constructconnect.com/dcn/news/ohs/2018/08/supervisors-play-key-role-return-injury-study-finds
- Supervisors who react with support can help injured workers return to the job. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 93, Summer 2018.