Dr. Monique Gignac
Dr. Monique Gignac is an associate scientific director and a senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. She is also a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and an affiliate scientist at the Krembil Research Institute, part of the University Health Network. From 2008-2014, Gignac was the scientific co-director of the Canadian Arthritis Network, a Network of Centres of Excellence comprising more than 150 arthritis researchers.
Gignac’s research expertise is in the areas of health and social psychology, including health models of disability. Her research examines psychosocial factors like stress, coping and adaptation and their importance in understanding the impact of chronic diseases on the lives of adults across the life course. In particular, her work focuses on ways to enable people with chronic disabling conditions to maintain involvement in employment and other valued roles and activities, as well as on facilitators and barriers to working with a disabling health condition.
Her research program is strongly collaborative. She works with clinicians, epidemiologists, health economists, sociologists and health psychologists. Study designs in her research program span community health surveys, qualitative research, measurement design and evaluation, and analyses of population health datasets.
Gignac has received recognition for her research with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award, Distinguished Scholar and Lecturer Awards from the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP) in 2013 and 2014, and recognition for mentorship from the Health Care, Technology and Place (HCTP) Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Strategic Research Training Program (2015).
“Many chronic physical and mental health conditions create ongoing challenges for those living with them. That's because their symptoms are often invisible. They're also intermittent in impact and therefore highly unpredictable. That creates a lot of stress and hard-to-answer questions. Should a person disclose their health condition at work? How does a person get support from others during times of difficulty without affecting their career? My goal is to apply research to improve the health and work outcomes of individuals living with these conditions.” – Dr. Monique Gignac
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. (PI on the project)
- Conceal or reveal? Facilitators and barriers to older workers' communication of accommodation needs. Funded by Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada. Ongoing. (PI on the project)
- Developing recommendations for an integrated approach to workplace health protection and health promotion. Funded by Alberta OHS Future. Ongoing.
- Getting the message right: strengthening RTW communication in B.C.'s health-care sector. Funded by WorkSafeBC Innovation at Work. Ongoing.
- Preventing work disability among millennial young adults with rheumatic disease. Funded by The Arthritis Society Operating Grant. Ongoing.
Publications
- Gignac MA, Smith PM, Ibrahim S, Kristman V, Beaton DE, Mustard C. Retirement expectations of older workers with arthritis and diabetes compared with those of workers with no chronic diseases. Canadian Journal on Aging. 2019 [Epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1017/S0714980818000685.
- Jetha A, Shaw R, Sinden AR, Mahood Q, Gignac MA, McColl MA, Martin Ginis KA. Work-focused interventions that promote the labour market transition of young adults with chronic disabling health conditions: a systematic review. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2019;76(3):189-198. doi:10.1136/oemed-2018-105454.
- Bonaccio S, Connelly CE, Fisher SL, Gellatly IR, Gignac MA, Jetha A. Beyond managing research partnerships: partnered research as an integrated methodological approach. Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 2018;11(4):613-619. doi:10.1017/iop.2018.123.
- Gignac MA, Kristman V, Smith PM, Beaton DE, Badley EM, Ibrahim S, Mustard C. Are there differences in workplace accommodation needs, use and unmet needs among older workers with arthritis, diabetes and no chronic conditions? Examining the role of health and work context. Work, Aging & Retirement. 2018;4(4):381-398. doi:10.1093/workar/way004.
- Biswas A, Smith PM, Gignac MA. Naturally occurring workplace facilities to increase the leisure time physical activity of workers: A propensity-score weighted population study. Preventive Medicine Reports. 2018;10:263-270. doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.03.013.
Presentations
- Challenges in accommodating mental and physical health conditions: What workplace parties are saying. IWH Speaker Series. June 12, 2018.
Interviews and articles
- Despite pain and fatigue, older workers with chronic conditions want to work to age 65. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 97, Summer 2019.
- Boomers with and without chronic conditions have similar needs for workplace supports . At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 95, Winter 2019.
- Emerging issues and innovative prevention approaches seen in latest IWH projects. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 94, Fall 2018.
- Sex/gender analysis: Men and women with arthritis have same needs at work, but not the same supports . At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 93, Summer 2018.
- External grants support range of Institute projects. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 88, Spring 2017.