Dr Jennifer Boak is a Research Fellow at the Care Economy Research Institute and the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research at La Trobe University. With more than 35 years of experience across community nursing, aged care, health service leadership, and research, she is committed to advancing equitable, person centred care for older people—particularly those living in rural and regional communities.
Jennifer recently completed her PhD, which explored how nurses identify and respond to complexity among community dwelling older adults. Her ImPaCt study has contributed new insights into the value of structured assessment tools, clinical judgement, and the integration of holistic, whole person approaches into routine community practice. She has published in leading journals on complexity, multimorbidity, geriatric assessment, and the care economy, and collaborates widely across academia, industry and government to translate research into practice.
Before entering research, Jennifer held senior leadership roles in community nursing and home based care, where she led large multidisciplinary teams, shaped service models, and contributed to quality improvement and aged care reform initiatives. She is an active mentor and educator, passionate about supporting the next generation of clinicians and researchers.