Abigail O. Akande, Ph.D., CRC

Abigail Olabisi Akande
Associate Professor, Rehabilitation and Human Services
Sutherland, 406
Penn State Abington
1600 Woodland Road
Abington, PA 19001

Teaching Interests and Courses Taught

  • Medical Aspects of Disability
  • Intro to Rehab Services
  • Intro to Disability Culture
  • Counseling Techniques
  • Rehabilitation Foundations
  • Cross Cultural Counseling

Selected Awards and Honors

Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence: Teaching Fellow Award (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
Academy for Teaching and Learning Excellence: Distinguished Teaching Fellow Medallion (University of Arkansas at Little Rock)
Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (The University of Arizona)

Dr. Akande is a qualitative researcher, with specific interests in narrative interviewing, case study, and grounded theory approaches. Her research interests include opioid use disorder among immigrants, vocational rehabilitation for immigrant women with disabilities and women with disabilities in under-resourced countries, disability policy, and reproductive justice for people with disabilities.

Dr. Akande’s approaches to curriculum development include compassion cultivation through experiential learning, and teaching cultural humility, advocacy through policy engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration through virtual international exchange.

Selected Publications

  • Akande, A. O. et al. (2023). A scoping review of the opioid epidemic among U.S. Immigrants: Implications for treatment practices. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse. http://doi.org/10.1080/15332640.2023.2173346  
  • Akande, A. O. & Rajapaksa, E. (2022). Immigration, politics, and mental health: An undergraduate independent study. Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and  Practice, 8(1). 
  • Akande, A. O. (2021). Defining disability internationally: Implications for Rehabilitation Service  Provision within Immigrant Populations in the United States. Journal of Life Care  Planning, 19(2). 
  • Akande, A. (2020, November 6). Anticipatory grief related to COVID-19: Fears of mortality and morbidity through the lens of culture. Penn State Social Science Research Institute. http://covid19.ssri.rajcmmementos.com/articles/anticipatory-grief-related-covid-19  
  • Akande, A. (2018). Narrative interviewing: A cross-cultural approach for rehabilitation professionals. Proceedings of the 2nd World Disability and Rehabilitation Conference, 1. 
  • Akande, A. O. (2017). Factors affecting vocational goal acquisition of female immigrant clients: Rehabilitation counselor perspectives. The Journal of Rehabilitation, 83(1). 

Ph D, Rehabilitation, The University of Arizona

MS, Rehabilitation Counseling, Boston University

BA, Child Development, Tufts University