This text is part of the special Research section
She has already won more than 20 awards and honors and is considered one of the 100 most promising black women in Canada. Researcher and professor at the University of Sherbrooke (UdeS) Magaly Brodeur is dedicated to reducing the harmful effects of behavioral addictions, such as those related to gambling. She also stands out for her unique academic background and her collaborative approach to research.
“We created Loto-Québec and, today, it is the State that takes care of games of chance and money, observes Magaly Brodeur, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the ‘UdeS and specialist in behavioral addictions. There are a lot of players who have gambling problems, it’s a public health problem. What is the state’s responsibility in this area? Our role, as researchers, is to better understand the problem and propose solutions to reduce harm. »
The young researcher observes that patients do not always know who to turn to, and that even family physicians sometimes have difficulty knowing the resources available for people with behavioral addictions. To this end, she is working on the development of a practice guide for physicians in the province, in collaboration with psychology specialist Andrée-Anne Légaré.
About 96% of people with a gambling-related disorder suffer from a concomitant mental health disorder, such as an anxiety disorder or depression, hence the importance of adequate and concerted medical care, continues Magaly Brodeur. “It’s a very important and emerging issue,” she says. With the pandemic, overnight, we found ourselves facing our computers, our video games. I think the pandemic has made the problem more visible. »
The researcher is also working on a research project that explores the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on players. The project is particularly interested in members of sexual and gender diversity, who are more at risk of having been affected in terms of mental health and of having turned to gambling. In collaboration with Loto-Québec and the organization Gambling: help and referral, it also develops responsible gambling tools based on behavioral economics.
For, by and with patients
“I like to do projects that are close to the needs of people in the field, explains Magaly Brodeur. Research is done for, by and with patients. This is what allows, I believe, to have the most impact and to make concrete changes. »
During the interview, Magaly Brodeur was in Paris. She presents her collaborative work with patient-partners, people who have already lived with a behavioral addiction and who actively participate in research work, both in terms of developing protocols and collecting data in the field.
If she loves working in the world of ideas, Magaly Brodeur does it with both feet firmly rooted in the reality on the ground. As a clinician scientist, her schedule is split between research and working in the clinic at Bishop’s University.
An extraordinary journey
Magaly Brodeur certainly has a professional approach and an outstanding academic background. It was during a project at the end of her bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations that she began to take an interest in state-owned companies. She then enrolled in a master’s degree in political history and focused on the prohibition period, when gambling and gambling were illegal and controlled by organized crime in the country. Passionate about the subject, she did her first doctorate in research on public health policies, before doing a second doctorate in medicine. Behavioral addictions, especially those associated with gambling, constitute his breadcrumb trail through these various disciplines. This multidisciplinary background now allows him to have much broader perspectives in his research work.
Brilliant for her talent and her contribution to the advancement of knowledge, the young woman won, over the years, more than twenty prizes and distinctions. In 2009, she was one of 15 recipients of a $180,000 scholarship from the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, one of the most prestigious scholarships in the country in the humanities and social sciences. In 2022, she was named among the 100 most promising black women in Canada, according to Canada International Black Women Excellence.
“When you belong to a visible minority, sometimes your journey can be more difficult,” says the young researcher, touched by this latest appointment. Sometimes we can be afraid and wonder what we are doing. To innovate, you have to dare, think outside the box and believe in your projects. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the Duty, relating to marketing. The drafting of Duty did not take part.