This Report has been produced based on the outcomes from the 5th Annual Social Work and Social Care Research Conference hosted on 7th March 2018 at Belfast Castle. The event was entitled: “How do we know if social work makes a difference? Issues in evaluating complex interventions”
The Event was hosted by the Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) with support from the Research and Development Division of the Public Health Agency, (HSC R&D Division) the conference is now well and truly recognised as an important event in the social work calendar. Attendance by over 130 delegates and speakers drawn from management, practice, academia (tutors and students) research and service users and carers demonstrates the ever increasing and diverse interest in research and evidence in social work. In response to the call for abstracts the event also highlighted the willingness of local researchers and social work practitioners to contribute to that evidence base by presenting, orally and in poster format, the outcomes of work undertaken in their own areas of practice.