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 and an affiliate scientist at the Krembil Research Institute, part of the University Health Network.
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. 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.
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); a recognition 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 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.
- Future-proofing young Canadians with disabilities for the changing labour market. Funded by Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada). Ongoing.
- Getting the message right: strengthening RTW communication in B.C.'s health-care sector. Funded by WorkSafeBC Innovation at Work. Ongoing.
Publications
- Sale JEM, Frankel L, Bogoch E, Gignac MA, Hawker G, Elliot-Gibson V, Jain R, Funnell L. Few fragility fracture patients perceive that their bone health is affected by their comorbidities and medications. Osteoporosis International. 2020 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1007/s00198-020-05409-w.
- Gignac MA, Bowring J, Jetha A, Beaton DE, Breslin FC, Franche RL, Irvin E, MacDermid JC, Shaw WS, Smith PM, Thompson A, Tompa E, Van Eerd D, Saunders R. Disclosure, privacy and workplace accommodation of episodic disabilities: organizational perspectives on disability communication-support processes to sustain employment. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation. 2020 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1007/s10926-020-09901-2.
- Gignac MA, Irvin E, Cullen KL, Van Eerd D, Beaton DE, Mahood Q, McLeod CB, Backman CL. Men and women's occupational activities and the risk of developing osteoarthritis of the knee, hip, or hands: a systematic review and recommendations for future research. Arthritis Care and Research. 2020;72(3):378-396. doi:10.1002/acr.23855.
- Biswas A, Dobson K, 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 [epub ahead of print]. doi:10.1136/oemed-2019-106158.
- 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.
Speaker Series presentations
- Challenges in accommodating mental and physical health conditions: What workplace parties are saying. IWH Speaker Series. June 12, 2018.
Interviews and articles
- What research can do: IWH researchers help MPs examine episodic disabilities and work issues. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 98, Fall 2019.
- Chronic diseases not slowing down older workers. Canadian HR Reporter. August 28, 2019. Available from: https://www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/wellness-mental-health/chronic-diseases-not-slowing-down-older-workers/304579
- 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.
- Grant round-up: Emerging issues and innovative prevention approaches seen in latest IWH projects. At Work: Institute for Work & Health; No. 94, Fall 2018.