Vidya Sundar

Vidya Sundar
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Office: Occupational Therapy, Hewitt Hall, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:
Pronouns: She/her/hers
I teach graduate and undergraduate coursework related to inclusive workplace practices and worker rehabilitation, human occupation, and research methods. My research and scholarly interests include programs and policies that promote employment outcomes of individuals with disabilities. My recent research interest is in career advancement and management strategies for people with disabilities. I am the Principal Investigator of a three year Field Initiated Research Project (funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research) to develop and test the use of job crafting as an intervention strategy to improve work-related self-efficacy engagement among persons with disabilities. Prior to this position, I served as the project director and program evaluator of several federally funded initiatives on employment, aging in the community, and chronic homelessness.

Dr. Vidya Sundar is an Assistant Professor in Occupational Therapy at the University of New Hampshire. Her research interests include community living and employment of individuals with disabilities, particularly around conceptual and psychometric issues in measuring workplace accommodations and in survey research related to workplace issues for individuals with disabilities. She currently collaborates with the UNH Institute on Disability on three federally funded research projects that focus on disability in the workplace and community living among individuals with disabilities. Dr. Sundar received her Ph.D. in rehabilitation Science from the University at Buffalo in 2007.

Courses Taught

  • HHS 540: Stats for Health Professionals
  • HMGT/OT 520: Happy and Healthy at Work
  • HMGT/OT 598: Happy & Healthy at Work
  • OT 760L: Psychosocial Eval & Interv Lab
  • OT 785: Research Methods
  • OT 860L: Psychosocial Eval & Interv Lab
  • OT 886: Engagement in Research

Education

  • Ph.D., Rehabilitation Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
  • B.S., The Tamil Nada Dr M.G.R Medical University

Research Interests

  • Ergonomics
  • Persons with Disabilities - Services For
  • Vocational Services for People With Disabilities
  • Work Motivation
  • Worker Attitudes and Technology

Selected Publications

  • Fyffe, D. C., Lequerica, A. H., Ward-Sutton, C., Williams, N. F., Sundar, V., & O'Neill, J. (2022). Understanding Persons With Disabilities' Reasons for Not Seeking Employment. REHABILITATION COUNSELING BULLETIN, 66(1), 3-12. doi:10.1177/00343552211006773

  • Sundar, V., & Brucker, D. L. (2022). Work limitations as a moderator of the relationship between job crafting and work performance: results from an SEM analysis of cross-sectional survey data. JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL REHABILITATION. doi:10.1007/s10926-022-10055-6

  • Houtenville, A. J., Phillips, K. G., & Sundar, V. (2021). USEFULNESS OF INTERNET SURVEYS TO IDENTIFY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: A CAUTIONARY TALE. JOURNAL OF SURVEY STATISTICS AND METHODOLOGY, 9(2), 285-308. doi:10.1093/jssam/smaa045

  • Sundar, V., & Brucker, D. (2021). "Today I felt like my work meant something": A pilot study on job crafting, a coaching-based intervention for people with work limitations and disabilities. WORK-A JOURNAL OF PREVENTION ASSESSMENT & REHABILITATION, 69(2), 423-438. doi:10.3233/WOR-213488

  • Brucker, D. L., & Sundar, V. (2020). Job Crafting Among American Workers with Disabilities. JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL REHABILITATION, 30(4), 575-587. doi:10.1007/s10926-020-09889-9

  • Sundar, V., O'Neill, J., Houtenville, A. J., Phillips, K. G., Keirns, T., Smith, A., & Katz, E. E. (2018). Striving to work and overcoming barriers: Employment strategies and successes of people with disabilities. JOURNAL OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION, 48(1), 93-109. doi:10.3233/JVR-170918

  • Sundar, V., Brucker, D. L., Pollack, M. A., & Chang, H. (2016). Community and social participation among adults with mobility impairments: A mixed methods study. DISABILITY AND HEALTH JOURNAL, 9(4), 682-691. doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2016.05.006

  • Schuh, M. C., Sundar, V., & Hagner, D. C. (2015). Friendship Is the Ocean: Importance of Friendship, Acceptance, and Leadership in the Transition to Adulthood. CAREER DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSITION FOR EXCEPTIONAL INDIVIDUALS, 38(3), 152-161. doi:10.1177/2165143414528031

  • Sundar, V., Fox, S. W., & Phillips, K. G. (2014). Transitions in caregiving: evaluating a person-centered approach to supporting family caregivers in the community.. J Gerontol Soc Work, 57(6-7), 750-765. doi:10.1080/01634372.2013.847885

  • Tomita, M. R., Mann, W. C., Stanton, K., Tomita, A. D., & Sundar, V. (2007). Use of currently available smart home technology by frail elders process and outcomes. TOPICS IN GERIATRIC REHABILITATION, 23(1), 24-34. Retrieved from https://www.webofscience.com/

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