Working with a Rheumatic Disease
An Interactive Tool for Youth and Young Adults

Cover image of the Working with a rheumatic disease: an interactive tool for youth and young adults

 

Access the Tool

Download Resource Handout (PDF 271.44 KB)

About Working with a Rheumatic Disease

Youth and young adults living with rheumatic health conditions such as juvenile arthritis or lupus face unique challenges as they enter the workforce. Identifying the right job, preparing a resumé and accessing the support can be helpful for career success. Working with a rheumatic disease: an interactive tool for youth and young adults is a step-by-step resource that offers access to information and recommendations from trusted resources to facililate young people to embark on the right path as they navigate the working world. This tool identifies potential challenges and helps youth and young adults overcome these challenges.

This interactive tool fills a gap identified by research revealing that young adults with arthritis and other chronic health conditions often struggle to access workplace supports and face distinct barriers and challenges in requesting job accommodations. The development of the tool was funded by the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP)'s Seed Grant. CRWDP is a seven-year research initiative housed at the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) that aims to improve work disability policy in Canada. The tool was developed by IWH, with stakeholder support from Cassie + Friends, a charity that champions awareness, support and research for paediatric rheumatic diseases. 
 

Who should use this tool

This interactive tool is designed for youth (teenagers) and young adults who are just entering, recently entered or contemplating entering the workforce. The tool takes users through one of three paths, depending on how they identify:

  • I am looking for work
  • I have a job
  • I'm not able to work

The tool then asks users to answer "yes" or "no" to questions that will help them identify important steps and potential challenges along the way, pointing to web-based resources that offer guidance.

The tool is available by clicking on the "Access the tool" link above, or by clicking on the image above.

A downloadable and printable Resource Handout is also available above, including a list of resources, as a companion to the online toolkit Working with a rheumatic disease.

 

Related project

Preventing work disability among millennial young adults with rheumatic disease. Funded by Arthritis Society Operating Grant. Ongoing.