Aini Pehkonen

Aini Pehkonen is a Professor at the Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland (UEF), within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. Her work focuses on client safety in social care, social work education, and immigrant integration in sparsely populated regions. She leads projects like the 'Social services and social work education development in the North Karelia region' (2024–2026) and contributes to research groups such as 'Client and patient safety in social care service' and 'Social work research and education team.'

Research Interests: Her research spans client safety analysis, professional ethics in social work, labor market dynamics for immigrants, and organizational culture in healthcare. Notable themes include reducing client harm through systemic reforms, evaluating social worker competency, and enhancing labor market attachment for marginalized groups.

Publications: Recent works analyze trends in client safety reporting, verbal abuse in social care, and regional immigrant labor integration. Her 2025 book Vaativa sosiaalityö explores professional challenges in social work, while earlier studies (e.g., 2014) investigate aging populations in rural contexts.

Grants & Projects: Active in regional development initiatives, including the North Karelia social work education project and studies on client safety reporting systems. Collaborates with organizations like the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).

Labs/Teams: Engaged with the Social Work Research and Education Team at UEF, focusing on bridging academic theory and practice in social welfare systems.