Dr. Monique Gignac
Dr. Monique Gignac is scientific director and senior scientist at the Institute for Work & Health. She is also a professor at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health.
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 an inclusive design award from MaRS-CIBC in 2022 for the development of the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT), 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
- Preventing work disability among millennial young adults with rheumatic disease. Funded by Arthritis Society Operating Grant. Ongoing.
- TIE-C-MI: Trajectories of Income and Employment of Canadians with Mental Illness. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Ongoing.
- Understanding how new businesses start managing OHS: laying the groundwork for future interventions . Funded by Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). Ongoing.
- Developing approaches to measuring the dimensions of gender and their relationship to health outcomes. Funded by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Completed.
- Future-proofing young Canadians with disabilities for the changing labour market. Funded by New Frontiers in Research Fund (a Tri-Agency Program—CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC). Completed.
Publications
- 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.
- 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 VL, 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.
- van Genderen S, Plasqui G, van der Heijde D, van Gaalen F, Heuft L, Luime J, Spoorenberg A, Arends S, Lacaille D, Gignac MA, Landewe RB, Boonen A. Social role participation and satisfaction with life: a study among patients with ankylosing spondylitis and population controls. Arthritis Care & Research. 2018;70(4):600-60. doi:10.1002/acr.23304.
Speaker Series presentations
- Challenges in accommodating mental and physical health conditions: What workplace parties are saying. IWH Speaker Series. June 12, 2018.
Media coverage
- Workplace supports help employees with arthritis. Benefits Canada: Rogers Media (Toronto, ON). September 22, 2015. Available from: http://www.benefitscanada.com/benefits/health-wellness/workplace-supports-help-employees-with-arthritis-71883