Pernilla Liedgren

I am a professor of social work at the Faculty of Caring Science, Work Life and Social Welfare, Department of Work Life and Social Welfare, University of Borås. I earned my PhD in 2007 at the School of Social Work, Lund University. Since then, I have worked at Dalarna University and Mälardalen University, from which I most recently transferred.

My research spans areas such as over-indebtedness, economic vulnerability, debt restructuring, self-presentation in relation to financial debt, economic violence, income support, and municipal activation programs. All these areas fall under what is traditionally categorized as poverty research—one of social work’s oldest, largest, and most significant areas of focus.

Alongside my research on debt and poverty, I have also been involved in various projects focusing on evidence-based practice. If poverty research is classified as one of social work’s oldest areas of focus, then evidence-based social work can be considered one of the newer ones. Examining practice, the methods used, and how they are applied is essential today for developing practical social work in alignment with the research findings we have accumulated over time.