Introduction
Welcome to the DCIDE tool (Decision-Support for Communicating about Invisible Disabilities that are Episodic).
DCIDE (pronounced “decide”) aims to help workers consider whether or not to share some personal health information with others at work. It was developed by research experts, people living with episodic conditions, and community groups.
DCIDE is an easy-to-use online tool that:
- helps you to consider key issues that can be important in determining whether to disclose information about a health condition at work;
- helps you to assess your personal situation and preferences;
- links to other materials and resources that you might be able to use – regardless of whether you decide to share anything about your health at work at this time or not.
DCIDE was designed for workers with an episodic disability—that is, a chronic health condition, often invisible, that reoccurs, fluctuates or gets worse over time. It can also be useful to anyone who needs to make a decision about sharing personal health information.
How does DCIDE work?
DCIDE asks you to respond to questions in five different areas that are often important when deciding whether to share some personal health information with others at work.
- Your Needs: Why are you thinking about whether to share some personal health information at work? What is happening now that is making you think about sharing?
- Your Goals: What goals are important to you when working with a health condition? Do you feel that sharing personal information with others would help you meet your goals?
- Your Communication Preferences: How comfortable are you sharing information about your health with others? What benefits or downsides do you think might result from your sharing?
- Your Work Supports: Does your workplace have benefits, sick days or other policies that can provide support to you?
- Your Work Culture: How supportive are others in your workplace? Are there benefits or downsides to sharing personal information with others at work?
DCIDE summarizes your responses to the questions and provides you with tailored advice to help you think about whether or not to disclose.
Since your health condition and other life circumstances (job type, career options) may change, it may be useful to retake the DCIDE tool whenever there are important changes to your situation.
How does DCIDE help?
Sometimes people feel like little, or nothing, can be done about their limitations at work, or they aren’t sure whether they are ready to share information with others. Sometimes a crisis in health can force changes or lead to others finding out about your health condition, even if you would rather keep that information private.
The purpose of DCIDE is to help people think about their needs and concerns and have more control over their health information to improve their experiences at work.
DCIDE may be most helpful when thinking about whether to talk to a supervisor, a human resources representative or a disability manager. These are the people who are most likely to be in a position to provide support. However, it may also be helpful when thinking about whether to communicate information to others like a union representative or a co-worker.
DCIDE also connects you with additional resources that may be useful, such as the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT), which provides practical support and accommodation ideas that are relevant to a wide range of job demands.
What DCIDE is NOT
DCIDE is not intended to push people toward either sharing or not sharing information.
- DCIDE guides people through key topics to consider when making a decision, but the final decision needs to be made by you.
- If there are any safety concerns related to your health or its treatment, DCIDE will flag that there may be a requirement in law to share at least some health information with others.
DCIDE is not intended to provide expert or legal advice.
- In Canada, as well as many other countries, human rights codes exist to protect workers from discrimination and support the right to reasonable accommodations. How the law applies in different situations is not always straightforward.
- For legal advice, users should consult with a legal expert. At the end of the tool, we provide some links to other sources of information and support.
Who created DCIDE?
The DCIDE tool was developed by the Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED) team, housed at the Institute for Work & Health, a not-for-profit research organization based in Toronto, Canada. The dimensions and questions were created by drawing on research, gaps in existing materials, and input from others including the ACED Expert Advisory Committee, research team members and ACED partners.
Learn more about the ACED tools, including the Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool (JDAPT) here.
DCIDE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. That means this tool can be used and shared if IWH is credited as the source, the information is not modified, and the information is used for non-commercial purposes. Read more here.
A few important things to know before you start
For each section, please answer all of the questions. Summaries cannot be produced for incomplete sections.
You may also find it easier to complete the tool on a computer rather than on a mobile device (for example, a smartphone or tablet).
Note: users may have difficulties saving PDF files when using a phone or tablet.
You can complete the tool in more than one session by saving a draft and returning to the tool later using the same device with cookies enabled.
You can return to a previous section by clicking on the section name in the progress bar at the top. However, you can only move forward again by clicking on “Next page” at the bottom.
After you complete the tool, you will have the opportunity to save a PDF copy of your results, including further information about sharing health information in the workplace.
