Dr. Jung Kwak

Biography

Dr. Kwak received her PhD in Aging Studies from the University of South Florida and her MSW in Social Work from the University of South Carolina. She is a Distinguished Fellow at the National Academies of Practice in Social Work, a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, and a Sojourns Scholar Leader as well as a Health Care Systems Scholar with the National Institute on Aging IMPACT Collaboratory. Dr. Kwak’s research focuses on implementing and evaluating psychosocial interventions to support caregiving, improve care transitions, and enhance the well-being of persons living with dementia and their care partners. Her current research includes studying palliative care outcomes for culturally diverse hospitalized dementia patients and their family caregivers, investigating the impact of training community health workers (CHWs) to provide care transition support for hospitalized dementia patients and families, and examining the effects of innovative curricula designed to improve the knowledge, skills, and competencies of health profession students related to caring practices for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and dementias. Her research on dementia care and end-of-life decision-making has been featured in major media outlets, including the Associated Press and USA Today, and has contributed to documentary films focusing on end-of-life care.

Research Interests