Dr. Monique Gignac
Dr. Monique Gignac is scientific co-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.
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, adaptation and communication, and their importance in understanding the impact of chronic diseases on the lives of adults across the life course. Of particular interest is research on workplace communication, privacy, support and accommodation needs among individuals living with chronic, episodic conditions.
Gignac's 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 (2013); an award for outstanding leadership and research from the Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence (2011); Distinguished Scholar (2013), Lecturer (2014) and Addie Thomas Service (2019) Awards from the international Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP); and recognition for mentorship (2015) from the Health Care, Technology and Place (HCTP) Strategic Research Training Program funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Care (CIHR).
“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)
- Instruments for assessing permanent psychological impairment. Funded by WorkSafeBC. Ongoing.
- Preventing work disability among millennial young adults with rheumatic disease. Funded by Arthritis Society Operating Grant. Ongoing.
- Return to work in policing: synthesizing current practices and implementation guidance. Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board of Ontario. Ongoing.
Publications
- Gignac MA, Shahidi FV, Jetha A, Kristman VL, Bowring J, Cameron JI, Tonima S, Ibrahim S. Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health, financial worries, and perceived organizational support among people living with disabilities in Canada. Disability and Health Journal. 2021 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101161.
- Van Eerd D, Cullen KL, Irvin E, Le Pouésard M, Gignac MA. Support for depression in the workplace: perspectives of employees, managers, and OHS personnel. Occupational Health Science. 2021 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1007/s41542-021-00090-9.
- Fan J, Macpherson RA, Smith PM, Harris MA, Gignac MA, McLeod K. Age differences in work-disability duration across Canada: examining variations by follow-up time and context. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2021;31(2):339-349. doi:10.1007/s10926-020-09922-x.
- Jetha A, Shamaee A, Bonaccio S, Gignac MA, Tucker LB, Tompa E, Bultmann U, Norman CD, Banks CG, Smith PM. Fragmentation in the future of work: a horizon scan examining the impact of the changing nature of work on workers experiencing vulnerability. American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 2021 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1002/ajim.23262.
- Jetha A, Tucker L, Chen C, Gignac MA. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment of Canadian young adults with rheumatic disease: longitudinal survey findings. Arthritis Care and Research. 2021 epub ahead of print. doi:10.1002/acr.24617.
Speaker Series presentations
- Does it matter what workers’ reasons are for disclosing or not disclosing a disability at work? Why and how?. IWH Speaker Series. November 24, 2020.
- Challenges in accommodating mental and physical health conditions: What workplace parties are saying. IWH Speaker Series. June 12, 2018.
Interviews and articles
- COVID worries highest among workers with both physical, mental health disabilities. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 105, Summer 2021.
- Episodic health conditions. Rehab & Community Care. April 23, 2021. Available from: https://www.rehabmagazine.ca/top-stories/episodic-health-conditions/
- Episodic health conditions. Rehab & Community Care. April 23, 2021. Available from: https://www.rehabmagazine.ca/top-stories/episodic-health-conditions/
- People’s reasons for disclosing episodic disabilities linked to support they receive. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 103, Winter 2021.
- Greater focus on episodic disabilities needed: Study. Canadian HR Reporter. August 25, 2020. Available from: https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/compensation-and-benefits/greater-focus-on-episodic-disabilities-needed-study/332638