Dr. Monique Gignac
Dr. Monique Gignac is scientific director and 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 service awards (2019, 2021) 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)
- Champions as social agents of change: what can we learn from worker well-being initiatives?. Funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Ongoing.
- 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 approaches to measuring the dimensions of gender and their relationship to health outcomes. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Ongoing.
- Future-focused job accommodation practices for the school-to-work transition. Funded by Accessibility Standards Canada (Government of Canada). Ongoing.
Publications
- Biswas A, Smith PM, Gignac MA. Access to showers and change rooms at work associated with active commuting among older workers: findings from a national population survey. Journal of Applied Gerontology. 2020;39(2):214-220. doi:10.1177/0733464818755313.
- Biswas A, Dobson KG , Gignac MA, de Oliveira C, Smith PM. Changes in work factors and concurrent changes in leisure time physical activity: a 12-year longitudinal analysis. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2020;77(5):309-315. doi:10.1136/oemed-2019-106158.
- Kokorelias KM, Gignac MA, Naglie G, Cameron JI. Towards a universal model of family centered care: a scoping review. BMC Health Services Research. 2019;19(1):564. doi:10.1186/s12913-019-4394-5.
- Gignac MA, Smith PM, Ibrahim S, Kristman VL, 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;38(3):296-314. 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.
Speaker Series presentations
- Deciding whether to share health information at work: A new evidence-based tool for workers with chronic conditions. IWH Speaker Series. November 19, 2024.
- Unveiling the JDAPT: A new interactive tool to identify work-related support strategies for workers with chronic conditions and disability. IWH Speaker Series. March 21, 2023.
- What do workplaces need to know to help older workers stay on the job? A qualitative study of older workers’ disclosure decisions. IWH Speaker Series. September 20, 2022.
- 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
- Thriving while sick: mentorship platform helps chronically ill workers navigate workplace issues. The Globe and Mail. April 26, 2024. Available from: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/careers/article-thriving-while-sick-mentorship-platform-helps-chronically-ill-workers/
- Employer versions of job accommodation tool help organizations think about worker needs. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 114, Fall 2023.
- Supporting workers with chronic conditions. Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety. May 19, 2023. Available from: https://www.ccohs.ca/newsletters/hsreport/issues/2023/05/ezine.html#hsreport-ontopic
- Older workers not prone to ask for employer support. Rehab & Community Care. April 30, 2023. Available from: https://www.rehabmagazine.ca/featured-carousel/older-workers-not-prone-to-ask-for-employer-support-citing-ageism-and-other-issues/
- Workplace health conversations are awkward: A new tool is here to help.. OHS Canada. April 20, 2023. Available from: https://www.ohscanada.com/features/workplace-chronic-health-conversations-are-awkward-a-new-tool-is-here-to-help/