Adapted from text by Keila De Pape, McGill University
A new study by researchers at McGill University and the Douglas Research Centre, led by senior author Dr. Marie-Josée Fleury, shows that Quebec’s public specialized gambling addiction treatment services remain underused, despite being offered free of charge.
Following more than 2,300 people with gambling disorder over a 13-year period, the researchers found that patients received fewer than two treatments on average.
“Gambling disorder is not something that can be resolved in a single treatment. It often requires sustained, long-term care. We need to approach it as a chronic condition for some patients, comparable to substance-related disorders,”
– Dr. Marie-Josée Fleury
The findings also show that people who gamble online and those living with mental health conditions were more likely to have repeated treatment admissions. The researchers emphasize the need for earlier screening and outreach, as gambling-related problems often go undetected and are rarely discussed in healthcare settings.
About the study
“Factors Associated with the Frequency of Treatment Admissions Over A 13-year Period Among Patients with Gambling Disorder” by Dr.Marie-Josée Fleury and Ovidiu Tatar et al., was published in the Journal of Gambling Studies. The study was supported by Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture.