Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

Education

Ph.D. 2018, Occupational Therapy, Lulea University of Technology, Lulea Sweden
Graduate Certificate 2011 Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A. 2009, Folklore, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.S. 1989, Occupational Therapy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A. 1984 Biology/German, Wake Forest University

Certification/Licensure

NC Occupational Therapy License #0782
National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy #000925
Member: 
     American Occupational Therapy Association
     North Carolina Occupational Therapy Association 
     Society for the Study of Occupational Therapy
     World Federation of Occupational Therapy
Certifications:
     Certified Aging in Place Specialist
     Certified Dementia Care Professional 

Specialties

Aging
     Caregiving in later life
     Well aging and community living
     Senior housing and transportation
     Dementia
Community-Based Practice
Neurorehabilitation: spinal cord injury and stroke
Academic education

Teaching

Currently involved in new curriculum development
Previous teaching experience:
   Master's level
      Human capacities: sensorimotor function related to occupational performance
      Neuroscience to support occupation
      Aging: Clinical Practice in Gerontologic Occupational Therapy
      Adulthood and Aging: A Life Course Perspective
      Assistive Technology and Adaptive Environments
      Applied research seminars for entry-level master's students
   Doctoral level
       Philosophy of Science
       Advanced Qualitative Analysis
       Age and Occupation from a Life Course Perspective

Biography

Dr. Jenny Womack joined the faculty of Appalachian State in August 2022. She is the Founding Director of the program in Occupational Therapy in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and will be working to develop a graduate entry-level professional program to enroll master’s students in the Fall of 2024. Dr. Womack previously taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and served as both admissions coordinator (2002-2012) and program coordinator (2012-2015) for the entry level MSOT program during her tenure there, as well as Associate Chair for Faculty Affairs for the Department of Health Sciences.

Dr. Womack’s clinical activities and research focus on aging, neurorehabilitation, caregiving and community-based practice. Within the realm of aging, she has been engaged with dementia caregiving initiatives, collaboration focused on aging-in-place and aging-in-community and issues related to transportation and housing. She served for 10 years as the consulting occupational therapist with the Orange County (NC) Department on Aging.  Dr. Womack was named as a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association in 2012 for her role in developing engaged community practice to support occupation.

Selected Publications

Lee, B.D., Bagatell, N., Ridlehoover, M.K*., & Womack J. Practitioner Perspectives on Occupation-Based Practice Across Varied Settings. OTJR: Occupational Therapy Journal of Research. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/15394492241226876 

Womack, J. & Bagatell, N. (2023) Emergence, Development and Transformation of Occupations over the Life Course. In Schell, B., Gillen, G & Scaffa, M. (Eds). Willard and Spackman’s Occupational Therapy 14th Edition. SLACK Inc: Philadelphia.

Toles, M., Li, Z*., Bankole, A. O., Conklin, J. L., Vu, T.*, & Womack, J. (2023). Characteristics of health care interventions in affordable senior housing: A scoping review. Geriatric Nursing, 53, 122-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.07.009 

Bankole, A.O., Girdwood, T., Leeman, J., Womack, J. & Toles, M. (2023). Identifying unmet needs of older adults transitioning from home health care to independence at home: A qualitative study. Geriatric Nursing, 51, Pp 293-302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2023.03.015   

Fields, B.,  Rodakowski, J., Jewell, V.,   Arthanat, S.,  Park, M., Piersol, C.V., Schepens Niemiec, S.J., Womack, J.,  Mroz, T.M. (2021).; Unpaid Caregiving and Aging in Place in the United States: Advancing the Value of Occupational Therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy  75(5), 7505347010. doi: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2021.044735

Rodakowski, J., Mroz, T. M., Ciro, C., Lysack, C. L., Womack, J. L., Chippendale, T., Cutchin, M., Fritz, H., Fields, B., Schepens Niemiec, S. L., Orellano-Colón, E. M., Rotenberg, S., Toto, P. E., Lee, D., Jewell, V. D., McDonald, M. V., Arthanat, S., Somerville, E., Park, M., & Piersol, C. V. (2021). Stimulating Research to Enhance Aging in Place. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 41(4), 268–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/15394492211022271

Lavalley, R., Womack, J.L. & Bailliard, A. (2020). A live community growing together: Communal occupation of a senior center welcoming Spanish-speaking elders. Journal of Occupational Science DOI: 10.1080/14427591.2020.1816209 

Womack, J. L., Lilja, M., Dickie, V., & Isaksson, G. (2019). Occupational Therapists’ Interactions with Older Adult Caregivers: Negotiating Priorities and Expertise. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 39(1), 48–55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449218799445