Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • As a research associate professor, Dr. Debra Brucker studies the economic, health, and social well-being of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable populations. Her recent research has focused on: 1) testing the efficacy of a job crafting intervention on improving employment outcomes for workers with disabilities; 2) examining differences in quality of life among older adults who reside in urban v. rural areas; and 3) identifying barriers to and the implications of food security for persons with disabilities and older adults.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2023 Comparing effects of question set order and location within a survey instrument of two commonly used disability question sets among a U.S. population of adults.Disability and Health Journal.  16:101424. 2023
    2023 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.  33:107-120. 2023
    2023 Linking job duties, functioning, and employment status using the Work-Disability Functional Assessment Battery (WD-FAB): An expert coding and quantitative analysis.Work.  74:75-87. 2023
    2022 Americans Aging With Disabilities Are More Likely to Have Multiple Chronic ConditionsJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  34:52-60. 2022
    2022 Food sufficiency and the utilization of free food resources for working-age Americans with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic (vol 14, 101153, 2021)Disability and Health Journal.  15:101298-101298. 2022
    2022 Food sufficiency and the utilization of free food resources for working-age Americans with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.Disability and Health Journal.  15:101297. 2022
    2022 Does Social Security promote food security? Evidence for older householdsApplied Economic Perspectives and Policy.  44:671-686. 2022
    2022 Midlife Work Limitations are Associated with Lower Odds of Survival and Healthy Aging.Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.  77:790-802. 2022
    2022 The association of disability status with job tenure for U.S. workers.Work.  72:109-117. 2022
    2021 Correction to: Job Crafting Among American Workers with Disabilities.Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.  31:729. 2021
    2021 Examining differences in prescription opioid use behaviors among U.S. adults with and without disabilities.Preventive Medicine.  153:106754. 2021
    2021 Food sufficiency and the utilization of free food resources for working-age Americans with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.Disability and Health Journal.  14:101153. 2021
    2021 Worker Functional Abilities, Occupational Requirements, and Job Accommodations: A Close Look at Three OccupationsSSRN Electronic Journal2021
    2021 Changes in the Employment Status of People With and Without Disabilities in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  102:1420-1423. 2021
    2021 Health disparities among Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries who participate in federal rental housing assistance programs.Disability and Health Journal.  14:101098. 2021
    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.  69:423-438. 2021
    2020 Job Crafting Among American Workers with Disabilities.Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation.  30:575-587. 2020
    2020 Disability and aging: From successful aging to wellbeing through the capability and human development lens.Disability and Health Journal.  13:100924. 2020
    2020 Variations in Poverty by Family Characteristics Among Working-Age Adults With DisabilitiesFamily Relations.  69:792-802. 2020
    2020 Wellbeing at older ages: Towards an inclusive and multidimensional measure.Disability and Health Journal.  13:100926. 2020
    2020 More than just lower wages: intrinsic job quality for college graduates with disabilitiesJournal of Education and Work.  33:410-424. 2020
    2020 Supplemental nutrition assistance program participation among working-age adults with disabilities who experience employment exits and entriesJournal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition.  15:51-61. 2020
    2019 Transportation patterns demonstrate inequalities in community participation for working-age Americans with disabilitiesTransportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice.  130:93-106. 2019
    2019 Health, Health Behaviors, and Health Care Utilization Among Adults with Serious Psychological Distress Who Receive Federal Housing Assistance.Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research.  46:586-606. 2019
    2019 The relationship between employment and health and health care among working-age adults with and without disabilities in the United States.Disability and Rehabilitation.  41:2299-2307. 2019
    2019 Prescription opioid behaviors among adults with and without disabilities - United States, 2015-2016.Disability and Health Journal.  12:519-522. 2019
    2019 Monitoring multidimensional poverty in the United StatesEconomics Bulletin.  39. 2019
    2019 Personal and Organizational Determinants of Job Satisfaction for Workers With DisabilitiesRehabilitation Counseling Bulletin.  62:170-179. 2019
    2019 Community mental health center staff attitudes about employment for persons with serious mental illness.Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal.  42:32-40. 2019
    2019 Job quality for Americans with disabilitiesJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  50:121-130. 2019
    2019 The association of commuting time and wages for American workers with disabilitiesJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  50:13-21. 2019
    2018 State and Local Determinants of Employment Outcomes Among Individuals With DisabilitiesJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  29:119-128. 2018
    2018 Striving to WorkSocial Indicators Research: an international and interdisciplinary journal for quality-of-life measurement.  139:541-558. 2018
    2018 Health and Health Services Access Among Adults With Disabilities Who Receive Federal Housing AssistanceHousing Policy Debate.  28:248-266. 2018
    2017 Food Insecurity Across the Adult Life Span for Persons With DisabilitiesJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  28:109-118. 2017
    2017 The association of food insecurity with health outcomes for adults with disabilities.Disability and Health Journal.  10:286-293. 2017
    2017 Income Poverty and Multiple Deprivations in a High-Income Country: The Case of the United StatesSocial Science Quarterly.  98:37-56. 2017
    2017 Income poverty and multiple deprivations in a high-income country: The case of the United StatesSocial Science Quarterly.  98:37-56. 2017
    2017 Measuring DisabilityCityscape (Washington, D.C.).  19:257-265. 2017
    2017 Variations in social capital among vocational rehabilitation applicantsJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  46:187-194. 2017
    2016 Using Sensory, Functional, and Activity Limitation Data to Estimate Employment Outcomes for Working-Age Persons With Disabilities in the United StatesJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  27:131-137. 2016
    2016 Food Insecurity Among Young Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the United States: Evidence From the National Health Interview Survey.American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.  121:520-532. 2016
    2016 Community and social participation among adults with mobility impairments: A mixed methods study.Disability and Health Journal.  9:682-691. 2016
    2016 Trips to medical care among persons with disabilities: Evidence from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey.Disability and Health Journal.  9:539-543. 2016
    2016 Food security among young adults with disabilities in the United States: Findings from the National Health Interview Survey.Disability and Health Journal.  9:298-305. 2016
    2015 Perceptions, Behaviors, and Satisfaction Related to Public Safety for Persons With Disabilities in the United StatesCriminal Justice Review.  40:431-448. 2015
    2015 Individual Characteristics and the Disability Employment GapJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  26:80-88. 2015
    2015 Linking public housing, employment, and disability benefits for working-age people with disabilitiesHousing and Society.  42:126-147. 2015
    2015 People with disabilities in the United States.Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  96:771-774. 2015
    2015 More Likely to Be Poor Whatever the Measure: Working-Age Persons with Disabilities in the United StatesSocial Science Quarterly.  96:273-296. 2015
    2015 Social capital, employment and labor force participation among persons with disabilitiesJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  43:17-31. 2015
    2014 Participation in Safety-Net Programs and the Utilization of Employment Services Among Working-Age Persons With DisabilitiesJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  25:91-105. 2014
    2014 Living on the Edge: Impact of Cutting DI/SSI Benefits on People with Disabilities and other Safety-Net ProgramsJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  41:209-223. 2014
    2014 Living on the edge: Assessing the economic impacts of potential disability benefit reductions for Social Security disability beneficiariesJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  41:209-223. 2014
    2012 Outcomes of a Family-Centered Transition Process for Students With Autism Spectrum DisordersFocus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities.  27:42-50. 2012
    2011 Performance-based contracting within a state substance abuse treatment system: a preliminary exploration of differences in client access and client outcomes.Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research.  38:383-397. 2011
    2010 EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACCESS AND RETENTION AMONG SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT ADMISSIONSJournal of Drug Issues.  40:553-576. 2010
    2009 Social construction of disability and substance abuse within public disability benefit systems.International Journal of Drug Policy.  20:418-423. 2009
    2008 Prescription drug abuse among persons with disabilitiesJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  29:105-115. 2008
    2007 Estimating the Prevalence of Substance Use, Abuse, and Dependence Among Social Security Disability Benefit RecipientsJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  18:148-159. 2007
    2007 Substance abuse treatment participation and employment outcomes for public disability beneficiaries with substance use disorders.Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research.  34:290-308. 2007
    2007 Ticket-to-Work project: Evaluation of an assertive outreach campaign to increase ticket assignment and use of the One-Stop system by SSA beneficiaries in an urban county in New JerseyJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  26:79-88. 2007
    2006 Re-Entry to RecoveryCriminal Justice Policy Review.  17:302-313. 2006
    2006 How management matters: Street-level bureaucrats and welfare reform.American Review of Public Administration.  36:117-119. 2006
    2006 Developing a screening tool to predict disability program participationJournal of Rehabilitation.  72:21-31. 2006
    2006 Re-entry to recovery: A promising return-to-work approach for certain offenders with mental illnessCriminal Justice Policy Review.  17:302-313. 2006
    2004 Informing the development of employment programs for persons with disabilities: A case study analysis of the definitions, uses and implications of the idea of suitable employmentJournal of Vocational Rehabilitation.  21:137-147. 2004
    2004 The Early Intervention ProjectJournal of Disability Policy Studies.  15:159-167. 2004
    Career self-management through job crafting for individuals with disabilities: A mixed methods study
    More Likely to Be Poor Whatever the Measure: Persons with Disabilities in the U.S.SSRN Electronic Journal
    Poverty and Disadvantage Through a Multidimensional Lens in the United StatesSSRN Electronic Journal
    State and local determinants of employment outcomes among individuals with disabilitiesJournal of Disability Policy Studies

    Education And Training

  • B.A. Criminal Justice/Safety, University of Delaware
  • B.A. Psychology, University of Delaware
  • M.A. Public Administration, University of Delaware
  • Ph.D. Resource Planning/Dev, Rutgers University
  • Full Name

  • Debra Brucker
  • Mailing Address

  • University of New Hampshire

    Institute on Disability

    10 West Edge Drive, Suite 101

    Durham, NH  03824

    United States