Professor Paula McFadden is a researcher and educator in Social Work at Ulster University, with research interests on workforce wellbeing, safe staffing, workforce resilience, and burnout.  Professor McFadden recently conducted a project commissioned by the Department of Health Northern Ireland on 'Safe and Effective Staffing in Social Work' which will inform policy and legislative development of Safe Staffing law soon to emerge in Northern Ireland.   Professor McFadden conducted a series of award winning UK wide research studies, examining burnout, workforce ageing in social work, and wellbeing which have informed key policy developments. During the COVID-19 pandemic, McFadden was awarded funding by the Health and Social Care Board, Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland to conduct a three year study on ‘COVID-19: UK Health and Social Care Workforce Wellbeing and Coping’ over a 3 year period.  Fulll results and publications can be found in the link https://www.hscworkforcestudy.co.uk/   This research informs employers, regulators, professional bodies, and service commissioners, about the key issues for workers and provides strategic guidance on what is needed to address workforce concerns relating to staff absence, turnover and retention.  The study has informed the Department of Health 'Strenghening our Core: A Regional Framework for HSC Staff Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace' and underpins regional training frameworks to promote staff retention and wellbeing across HSC organizations.  In addition to workforce research, McFadden is also interested in social work education and graduate preparation for social work practice.  Professor McFadden has collaborated with authors from international countries on social work regulatory comparisons including curriculum and practicum.  

McFadden is also the founder and co-convenor of the Workforce Research Special Interest Group with ESRWA which has international membership from over 40 countries. For further information please go to the following link https://www.eswra.org/wr_sig.php  

Full academic profile can be found here  https://www.ulster.ac.uk/staff/p-mcfadden

Professor McFadden has collaborated with the International Federation of Social Work (IFSW) and Bath Spa University on a global study of social work working conditions across international countries.  This repeat time series survey is the first study to examine working conditions and wellbeing of social workers across the globe, enabling country specific information to inform governments, Non Goverment Organizations and service commissioners and regulators to take an informed approach to workforce and service planning.

Whilst Professor McFadden's main area of expertise is about the workforce, concerns about service quality and the impact of workforce issues on the lives of those who are service recipients are central to her work. A study 'The Moral and Fiscal Costs of Social Worker Turnover in Children's Services' conducted in 2026, highlights the actual costs of unwanted workforce turnover to organizations and commissioners but importantly, also tells the story from a service user perspective. See publications on the topic in Professor McFadden's papers, which are open access and free to download.

Professor McFadden teaches at Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels at Ulster University and is the program lead for the Stage 2 MSc in Research Methods for Social Work and Service Users at Ulster University. 

Professor McFadden teaches on undergraduate modules on the BSc Hons Degree in Social Work, on 'Resilience and Wellbeing in Social Work Practice'. She has also specialist areas of teaching on Older People and Disability social work practice. 

Professor McFadden is supervising PhD students whose interests are related to social work workforce wellbeing and practice issues and welcomes applications from potential PhD candidates who are interested in pursing research in the realms of social work workforce wellbeing and the practice areas outlined.

1. Policy Position Paper for Health and Social Care Professionals in Ireland. Funded by Forsa Trade Union. £11K (approx.) May-June 2026.

2. Moral and Fiscal Cost of Social Worker Turnover in Children's Services in Northern Ireland. Funded by the HSC R&D Division, Enabling Award. £50K (approx.). March 2025-May 2026.

3. DoH led project on safe staffing in social work policy leading to safe staffing in social work guidance.

McFadden. P., Mallet., J, McGrory., S et al £98 (approx.).

Department of Health / Northern Ireland Social Care Council

1st January - 31st December 2023