Evidence-Informed Mental Health Social Work: Insights from the 2025 Inspiring Social Worker of the Year with Brandon Wong, MSW

In this episode, the 2025 Inspiring Social Worker of the Year Award Winner, Brandon Wong, joins the podcast. Brandon Wong, a mental health social worker within the Vancouver Coastal Health authority, practicing in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. He reflects on his journey from a health sciences background in Australia to frontline social work in complex mental health and substance use settings. He shares what drew him to social work practice, why social workers are essential within interdisciplinary mental health teams, and his experience and insights of engaging in evidence-informed practice and knowledge exchange within healthcare. He further reflects on what it meant to be named inspiring Social Worker of the Year and co-authoring an award-winning article in the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity and Social Work. Brandon’s insights help foster a greater understanding of how social work research can be used to inform best practice, both currently and in the future.